Evening Classes
by EternalSorrow
Summary: AU. After failing several required courses at the Police Academy, Seras is forced to take evening classes to graduate. Her lessons are set aside, however, as she tries to solve a growing mystery surrounding the school's new accommodations. AxS
1. Fall Begins

A/N: A salute and prayer to all those Americans returning to school for the fall. This is sincerely dedicated to your efforts and future boredom.

Disclaimer: Not mine, so bugger off.

Fall Begins

The air was crisp and cool and the leaves were falling endlessly along the trail as the weak sun stood low overhead. The dropped foliage upon the ground made for a loud walk as two young women strode through the heaps along an old path. Their faces were glum with the season they both sullenly trudged their way through the colorful fall snow as though going to their execution.

"So it's come down to this" one of the women, a girl of slightly small stature and dark black hair, suddenly announced in a forlorn manner.

"We did skip a few classes" her companion, another short woman with strawberry blond hair, pointed out.

"But to have failed us?!" the first dramatically exclaimed with a flourish of her hand. "How could they do that to us, Seras?"

"Quite easily, I guess" Seras replied in an offhand manner. She was growing quickly tired of her friend's drama act, and the darkening evening was beginning to startle her nerves. She never had liked the dark. "But we could make the best of it if we want, Sarah."

"Make the best of _this_?" Sarah asked incredulously as though she could not believe her ears. "Because of some grumpy old men in uniforms, we have to waste our evenings of party in boring classes. How will our social lives survive?"

"I think the parties are what got us into this" the blond quietly replied as she looked up to stare at the wondrous leaves above them. A soft grin revealed itself at the beauty which signified the season. "But there is one thing we can look forward to."

"And what's that?" her friend asked as she stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest.

Seras turned around and revealed a wicked smile upon her otherwise innocent face.

"At least we're the only two girls in an all boy class."

Sarah thought over Seras' observation for a moment with a serious expression on her face, then her own lips turned up into a grin. She let out a barking laughter and shook her head in amusement and she moved forward and placed an arm around her friend's shoulders.

"That's what I like about you, Seras" she concluded as they continued their journey along the path. "You always look on the bright side of things."

Her friend blushed at the compliment and they continued their leisurely stroll through the quiet trees far from the main road. Before of the dense brush which lined the walk and the narrow area, they had been forced to leave their car at the entrance of the path. Soon Sarah grew tired of the calm atmosphere and released her friend from her warm grasp with a bored sigh.

"Geez, how long does this go?" she questioned to no one in particular in a slightly angry tone. "I didn't realize walking to class was going to be part of our training" she quipped with a loud laugh at her own joke.

"The secretary did say it was going to be a long walk" Seras pointed out as she tried to qualm her friend's rising irritation. The day was too nice for a quarrel to interrupt the scene. "But we should be there soon. See? The trees are already starting to open up" she noted as she pointed to the thinning canopy above.

"And about ti-" Sarah was about to exclaim, but her words caught in her throat as they came in full view of the opening.

Before them stood a giant manor which stood upon a slight hill. With the addition of the large attic, the structure was four stories high and made in the late Tudor style of peaked turrets which dotted the expansive roof. The walls were made of thick, gray bricks and high, top-rounded windows looked out upon the grounds from the three lower floors. Fanciful screens covered the glass and wild vines grew unmolested amidst both stone and glass as it climbed its way to the very roof.

Trees surrounded the grand establishment on all sides and a large lawn stretched beyond sight. On their left they could barely make out the outlines of numerous old, smaller buildings in various states of disrepair.

The entire scene was eery in the quiet of the evening as both friends stood in the shadows of the trees. There appeared to be no one about, and the girls both began to feel uneasy about their situation.

"Tell me again why they decided to have our classes in this rusty old place?" Sarah asked of her companion, though her eyes did not move from the picture before them.

"The owner offered the house free of charge" Seras explained with a shake of her head at the cheapness of their school. "They, um, didn't want to refuse such a kind offer."

"You mean they were too greedy?" her friend suggested as her words echoed both their thoughts. She let out a sigh as she was finally able to tear her gaze from the imposing structure. "Well, we'll be late for these sessions if we don't hurry."

"Right" Seras agreed as she nodded her head and they both set out across the lawn.

The distance was about four hundred meters, but the time seemed to slow as they stepped nearer the manor. The air seemed to grow colder as they approached, but not merely because of the setting sun which was beginning to sink behind the building. Seras tightened her coat around herself while Sarah wrapped her arms around herself.

"A little cold, isn't it?" she half-heartedly joked, as though both were afraid to break the deathly silence which seemed to envelope the grounds.

"Yeah" Seras managed to reply as they finally reached the entrance.

A large door covered by a deep stone arch greeted their arrival and they hesitantly stepped inside the dark area. Both hesitated as they looked upon the heavy knockers which adorned the door, but neither was prepared when the portal suddenly began to open.

Both girls stiffened with fright as the large doors swung apart to reveal a lone, elderly servant who stood upon the threshold. They could see little of his appearance, as the sun did not penetrate where he stood, but they could tell he stood erect as a young man and did not appear frail. His wizened eyes also were little clouded by his age, and the ponytail he wore bespoke of a brazen attitude toward conventional style.

"You must be the two ladies in the class" he spoke with a slight smile as he stepped aside and allowed them entrance.

Sarah, noticing the shadowed entrance and wary of the eerie appearance of the servant, put her hand behind Seras' back and pushed her friend forward. Seras had enough balance not to fall to the ground, but the shove propelled her into the lobby of the manor while her friend followed with a grin upon her face.

Seras turned to scowl at her companion, but the servant only appeared amused at their antics.

"Since we are to see quite a bit of one another, may I introduce myself" he suggested as he gave them an old-fashioned bow. "My name is Walter. And you ladies are?"

"My name is Sarah Cunningham" the dark-haired imp gave as she looked to her friend. "And this is Seras Victoria."

Seras would have been offended with not introducing herself had she not been distracted by the entrance hall they now stood within. The tall ceiling boldly showed the large rafters which supported the house and a large, dark-oak staircase was set to the left side of the center of the room. Halls branched off to their left, right, and straight ahead, but they all stood in darkness too deep to see what lay within their passages.

A chilling breeze seemed to pass through her for a moment, though Walter had shut the door upon their entrance, and she tightened her grip upon her coat. The place was eerily quiet, like a tomb, and she had the distinct impression they were little welcomed, regardless of their class schedules.

"A pleasure" Walter greeted with a smile as he raised his arm in a welcoming gesture, a movement which brought the attention of Seras' wandering mind. "If you will follow me."

The two women allowed their new acquaintance to guide them out of the large lobby which they had stepped into and up the large stairs into the depths of the manor's interior. They gazed in wonder at the dark paneled walls which seemed to line the entire house and shroud the manor in perpetual shadow. The bannister of the stairs was thick wood with intricately carved posts depicting scenes of subtle sexuality and violence which rapped themselves in a climbing spiral.

They arrived upon the second story only to turn a sharp left and climb another set of steps. Seras could only catch a glimpse of the halls to their right and left, and both appeared to be lined with many doors. A single window stood at the end of the passages, and the meager light from beyond the thick curtains did little to enlighten the woman as they proceeded to the third story.

"If I may request" Walter suddenly spoke as they climbed the stairs. "But the Master has requested no one enter any of the wings other than those designated for the classes."

"Will we get a tour later?" Sarah asked as Seras tried desperately not to look down to the floors below. The heights made her dizzy. "By the master himself, too?"

"I am afraid not" the servant replied as they finally reached the third level. "The Master is busy with other arrangements and hasn't time for such an excursion."

"What does he do?" Seras inquired with a polite air as they proceeded to their left down the hall.

Sarah and she both noticed there was not another stairwell to the final level, and both wondered where the entrance was hidden.

"He manages his various land assets" Walter vaguely answered as he suddenly stopped before an inconspicuous door to their left. The two young women could hear voices and laughter from inside. "We have arrived" he spoke as he opened the door and gestured for them to enter.

The two young ladies thanked their guide with a nod of their heads and walked into the room. There they were greeted by the normalcy of the classroom, along with several waves from their known acquaintances. The area was lined with their usual desks and a chalkboard stood at the head with books piled on the desk which stood before the writing board. The only differences were the stone walls and the high windows which looked out upon the front grounds, forest path, and small town beyond.

"Hey girls" one of the taller boys, a foreign exchange student named Pip, called from across the room. He had lost one of his eyes in a motorbike accident some years earlier, and now he proudly sported a black eyepatch with skull and crossbones over the front. "I see zee school was not kind to you, either."

"Apparently not" Sarah noted as they walked over to the windows the small group lounged around.

The other people in the group, which in its entirety consisted of three, were all familiar to the two young ladies. Besides Pip there stood his friend Hans Günsche, a tall, silent blond who everyone called The Captain, and Harry Anders, a natural leader who represented the group whenever they got into trouble.

They often made his work difficult.

Seras, however, noted in surprise that Integra Hellsing, one of the most academically successful students in their class, was seated at the front of the room. She pointed out the oddity to the group.

"They couldn't have flunked her, could they?" Sarah asked in a shocked tone as she jabbed a thumb in the mentioned woman's direction.

"No" Pip spoke as they cast side glances at their classmate. "I overheard her telling the teacher last semester she just wanted to see the manor."

"She always was weird" the young woman noted as she settled down in one of the desks. Then a small, mischievous smile crept onto her face. "But then, so is this entire place."

"Maybe something's going on here" Seras suggested as she seated herself behind her friend. The rest of the group gathered themselves around in their own desks as they heard footsteps in the hall. "I mean, I feel like something's about to happen..." she tried to explain as her voice trailed off into a hushed whisper.

"You know nothing ever happens in Cheddar, Seras" Sarah scolded with a bitter laugh as the teacher walked into the room.

"I suppose you're right" her friend glumly agreed as she looked out upon the lawn through the window at her left.

The shadow of the manner stretched across the grounds and touched the small town of Cheddar which lay below. The peaks appeared as fingers reaching out to the slumbering village which Seras had occupied for the last three years as a student of the small police academy, one which she hoped to graduate at the end of the next two semesters if all went well.

Unfortunately, with the mark of school came the inevitable ache of boredom within the classroom. The beautiful summer of freedom was over and the first class of the year was beginning, marking the descent in shackles which all the students in the class felt as the teacher rapped his ruler on the desk to gain control over the group of class failures.

But perhaps, just maybe, Seras thought as she slowly turned her eyes from the window, perhaps something would happen this year.


	2. Sour Introductions

A/N: Dedicated to Alley, the prissiest cat I ever knew.

**Sour Introductions**

The students grew quiet as the footsteps in the hall stepped up to the door. Most knew who the teacher would be, a Mr. Robert Michaels of curriculum infamy, and they all dreaded the homework he was sure to give them over the course of the year. He was the strictest professor in the entire academy, and he especially reserved his hatred for those students who had failed any class.

Like all those currently in attendance.

The air was heavy with anticipation as the door opened and Mr. Michaels stepped through into the new classroom. However, what no one was expecting was the woman who accompanied him close behind, and the new arrival caught the interest of the male students.

The woman had dark black hair speckled with coming gray and a thin pair of glasses were perched upon her nose. She wore a business suit made of dark, expensive fabric and her lips were opened in a smile of welcome.

Pip gave a soft, low whistle which caused a number of the students to laugh quietly, but Mr. Michaels was not amused. He glared at the class clown, but this time he let the rude behavior slip because of the guest waiting for her introduction. The woman, however, seemed flattered by the attention and she gave a wink in Pip's direction.

"My name is Professor Michaels, and this is Elizabeth Wolchester" Mr. Michaels introduced as the woman gave a courteous nod. "Miss Wolchester is the manager of the estate, and Mr. Vulgate's official representative" he explained with an undertone of warning. "Please obey her instructions regarding the grounds."

Seras wondered at the name Professor Michaels had given, especially when her eyes turned in Pip's direction. He had stiffened and given a puzzled expression when the manor's owner had been announced, but he had remained quiet. She would need to ask him about his reaction later, but for now the woman stepped to the front of the room.

"I would like to welcome you all to the manor house" she greeted with a wide smile as her eyes gazed about the room. Strangely, Seras could not help but see a flash of something other than joy as the executor noted the two young ladies seated in the back of the room and Integra at the front. "Mr. Vulgate could not make it today to welcome you himself because of his schedule, but feel free to consider me his personal representative."

A number of the students were surprised when Integra suddenly spoke up.

"When do we meet our host?" she asked in a curious fashion.

"I'm afraid that has yet to be arranged" Ms. Wolchester replied in a blunt but professional manner. "But until then, we would be glad to offer you any services you need, including dinner in our dining room."

At the invitation for free food the students all stood and cheered, and papers flew everywhere in chaotic celebration. Their food-deprived, pay-tuition-first stomachs rumbled in appreciation. Seras herself smiled with glee at the invitation, but the unusual charity seemed strange when the owner had already given so much to the school.

"Zis is the life" Seras heard Pip say to the Captain and she rolled his eyes at his stomach talk.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Wolchester" Professor Michaels thanked as he took control over the class. "I'm sure they will take you up on your kind offer" he dryly noted.

"I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Michaels" the woman replied as she gave one last look to the class, especially a venomous glance toward the girls, and left the room.

Which now left the students in the grasp of their iron-fisted professor, who promptly scowled at the youth.

"As many of you know, Mr. Lucifer Vulgate has kindly offered the use of this classroom for the entire year" Mr. Michaels explained as he turned and began writing work on the blackboard. "I expect you all to be respectful of any wishes Mr. Vulgate and to properly represent the school."

He pointedly looked at Pip for signs of sincerity, but the student only gave a half-hearted shrug and the teacher was forced to sigh in acceptance.

What then followed was a quick layout of the rules for homework assignments and attendance, both of which was mandatory and no dog-ate-my homework excuses were accepted. Seras, however, barely heard the instructions as she thought of the manor owner's first name; Lucifer. She could hardly imagine a sane parent naming their child such an unusual and ill-reputed title, and by the expressions on her friends' faces they seemed to be thinking the same.

The monotony of the work, though, infiltrated her thoughts as she focused on the lecture of the professor. Soon the class slipped into a comatose state as he began reviewing the history of medieval warfare, most of which consisted of bloody limb-chopping.

The twilight of the day passed and gave way to night as the professor switched on the single light overhead. The walls, made of rough stone, held shadows in their jagged surfaces and the classroom seemed filled with fantastic shapes and demons. Seras could well imagine being frightened in such a place, had she been alone and unable to find her way out.

And she had the distinct feeling that with the coming of darkness, something more than the class had entered the room.

The other students, however, were beginning to shift from their afternoon slumber into their nocturnal habits of parties and binge drinking, the natural occupations of the academy students. The professor merely assumed his lectures were really that interesting, and to the horror of his pupils he began to ask questions about what he had discussed.

It was an ugly scene as one student after another fell to the power of his interrogation. Soon only Seras remained unharmed while the rest were either stupefied or slumped over their desks.

"You there, in the back" Professor Michaels called out to the innocent student as his eyes gaze toward her desk. He briskly looked through the attendance sheet and found her name. "Miss Victoria. When did Sultan Mehmed II invade the small kingdom of Wallachia?" he asked as his eyes challenged her to respond.

"Um, two thousand B.C.?" she lamely replied.

"The year was 1462" Professor Michaels replied as he sighed heavily and wearily turned his back upon the class. He began jotting down the homework assignments for the week, and the class groaned at the weight of the reading. "I expect you all to read four hundred pages by the weekend, and two hundred over Saturday and Sunday."

There were several visible signs of weeping as the hopes of two-am parties sailed away. Seras watched as Sarah slammed her head against her desk in frustration as the teacher turned to see what the noise was. The only thing which saved the student was a sudden knock upon the door, followed by the entrance of Walter.

"If I may interrupt, sir" the retainer apologized as he gave a curt bow. "But as it is supper, I was instructed to invite the students to dinner."

The savior was given a round of applause and shouts of glee as the class stood in unison and began gathering their books. The professor attempted to retake order but his efforts failed miserably as the quickest students began escaping to the hallway. Finally he gave up and allowed them their freedom, albeit with a scowl of disapproval.

As soon as all the students were in the hall, hungry and waiting, Walter led the group down the stairs to the main floor. Seras took the time to examine their elderly guide and the manor as it appeared after sunset. To her disappointment she found little of interest with the retainer; he wore a simple vest over a dark shirt, and his pants were professional looking. The only astonishing article was his long, silver hair which was pulled back into a pony tail.

The manor, however, proved to be much more interesting, and tinged with more shadows than she had ever seen. The dark walls, lit only by the gas lamps placed above their heads every few yards, eerily reflected the glow of the dancing flames. With the small light she could barely see the other doors of the hall, and she noticed that several other students knocked painfully against doorknobs.

The windows, tall and clean, allowed the moon to light some corners of the floorboards but the glass was old and the imperfections made ugly patterns on the walls. The ceiling, about ten feet high, was completely darkened by the night and she could only imagine what secrets were held up there.

The stairs, with the ornately carved bannister and worn steps, creaked and groaned under the weight of the students. The well-stepped path had an old carpet which had been placed in the center of the stairs, and in spots was worn through to the wood. Seras held firm to the railing and tried not to look down to avoid becoming dizzy from the heights.

When the group reached the bottom Walter took a sharp right and opened a pair of large, wooden doors into which the students and he entered.

The visitors were awed by the sight of a massive room with walls covered by oak panels. The floor was polished mahogany and objects were lined along crevices in the walls. Looking up they could see the aged rafters which held the roof in place and transparent glass images were placed in circle arrangements, numbering six in all. There appeared to be no exit to the outside, as there were no low windows nor exterior doors visible other than one at the opposite end which probably led to the kitchen.

Seras was surprised at the lack of windows, for she knew the outside had shown a long line of windows which had covered the far wall to their left. The other door, across the wide expanse of the room, seemed an uninviting escape as the portal appeared heavy and cumbersome, and there appeared to be strange carvings upon its surface which she recoiled from at even so great a distance as she now stood.

In the center of the room lay a massive hickory table which stretched across most of the room, and high-backed chairs ran along the sides and stood at both ends. A single carpet ran along the middle of the wooden furniture and candelabra were placed at intervals to help with the simple gas lamps on the walls.

For Seras the entire scene appeared to come from some old horror movie, but the crowd of students expelled the emotion of fear.

But what really caught the students' attentions was the smaller table against the wall.

Piled high on plates and in pots was a feast of every kind of food imaginable. The scents of the ambrosia wafted to their noses and for a moment each took in the delicious smell, until the stampede started.

Students pushed and yelled to grab the fine china plates and cram them full of food before anyone else could as much as get in line. Pip, Harry and the Captain, with their height and strength, managed to be one of the first ones in line and the first to leave the table with their arms full of plates they had randomly grabbed.

Seras and Sarah had grabbed one of the ends of the dinner table for themselves and they waited impatiently for the boys to drop the plates on the wood. With the veracity of starving hounds all seated themselves in the hard wooden chairs of the table and proceeded to dig into the feast.

For a long while the dining hall was filled with the sound of chewing as everyone thoroughly enjoyed the free meal. However, Seras soon noticed one student, not far from where they sat, who had not taken a single bite.

The young prodigy, Integra, was ignoring her plate in favor of the ceiling above themselves. Seras, out of instinct, looked up and noticed only the glass windows with their depictions of people. Strangely, though, she seemed to notice a single recurring figure in all the pictures; a woman of great beauty who slowly seemed to transform into some sort of wretched demon.

Her friends, having finished their meals, now noticed her preoccupation above and all turned their eyes heavenward.

"What a sight we must be" Sarah casually mentioned, though her gaze never left the ceiling.

As funny as her joke was, the rest remained silent as they all inspected the glass windows and the story they told. Seras, unable to find anything familiar in the tale, finally gave up and looked about her companions for answers. To her surprise she noticed that Pip's face was slightly pale and his eyes showed a troubled emotion.

"What's wrong, Pip?" she asked, and her question broke the spell on all the others as they turned to look at their friend.

"Zose pictures, I know where zey are from" he replied with hesitation.

"Well?" Harry prodded after a long pause. "Are you going to tell us or not?"

"Zee story is from zee Talmud" he replied with some humiliation.

"..the what?" Sarah questioned in confusion.

"A book for zee Hebrews" Pip answered in annoyance at the subject. "Zey spoke about a woman named Liliz who fell from grace and became a demon."

The others around him stared at their friend in complete shock at his knowledge of things other than drinking, women, and motorcycles. Pip for his part now looked like he regretted having spoke up and wished only to crawl into a hole until they forgot.

"Um, how do you know this?" came the first question out of Seras' mouth.

"Ma mere" he admitted. "She was very interested in zee religions of zee old world."

"So, um, this Lilith" Sarah spoke up as she looked to the ceiling. "She's the harpy up there?"

"I zink so" Pip agreed as his own eyes shifted from one glass picture to another in uncertainty.

"Odd" Harry commented as his strong tone caught everyone's attention. "Our host seems to have some strange tastes."

Before anyone could agree the door at the far end of the hall suddenly opened with a loud creak, and into the room stepped Ms. Wolchester. She held the same self-possessed look she had given in the classroom, but underneath Seras could sense the hostility she felt for the girls as the executor began meeting with the groups of students.

The final group could not help but notice as she passed by Integra without so much as a nod, but their classmate appeared not to care in the least.

"Did you enjoy the food?" she politely asked them as she smiled down upon their stained faces.

"Zee best, mademoiselle" Pip replied gallantly as he stood and bowed.

The other girls at the table rolled their eyes at his antics, but Ms. Wolchester appeared flattered by his attention.

"I see manners are not quite all gone in your generation" she noted with a laugh as she curtsied and turned to the rest of the class. "You will have to excuse your host, as he is busy and can't make the dinner this evening."

"Will he ever?" Integra suddenly asked, and again her question was blunt.

"Perhaps another evening" Ms. Wolchester quickly replied as she coldly turned her back on the student and toward Pip's group. "I hope to see you soon" she spoke as her eyes pointedly looked upon the single gaze of her gallant young student.

With the strange farewell the executor of the estate left the students to finish their meals and exit the grounds. Their class and food were eaten, and a long week of homework awaited them in their rooms. In pairs and groups they gathered their bags and left the dining hall, until only the cluster at the end of the table remained.

"What a witch" Sarah dryly commented as she spat in the direction the woman had left. "Maybe she should learn some manners."

"I don't zink so" Pip replied with a wide grin at the prize he had obtained in her infatuation.

Seras again rolled her eyes at his antics as they gathered their things, and they went out into the large entrance hall.

The manor, now wrapped in darkness with but a few electric lights to lead their steps, was eerie as they made the group made their way to the large front doors. The house was as silent as the tomb as Seras looked up the stairs they had climbed to their classroom, and for a moment she thought she saw a figure standing at the top of the landing.

"Seras?" Sarah called as she noticed her friend stood rooted to the spot in front of the steps. "Hey Seras, come on!" she called as she went back and grabbed the other woman's hand. She was shocked to find it ice cold. "Are you all right?" she asked with concern.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine" Seras replied with a shy smile, though her eyes were still transfixed on the stairs. "Did you see anyone standing there just now?" she asked of her companion.

Sarah looked a the stairs with the light coming through from the high windows along the landing.

"All I see are shadows and bogeymen" she teased as she tugged hard and they made their way to the boys who waited at the door for them. "And what did you see?"

"Oh" Seras murmured as she seemed in a daze. "I just thought I saw something, that's all."

"Well, we have plenty of homework to see this week, so there's no more room for anything else" her companion replied with a light laugh as they bustled out of the manor and the door shut loudly behind them.

The lights flickers with the breeze from the portal, and the waving flames cast dancing shadows upon the walls as the house resumed its still and silent manner.


	3. Another Strange Detail

A/N: Hopefully the haunting atmosphere has returned with this chapter.

**Another Strange Detail**

Sarah groaned as she slammed her book shut and rolled over to lay on her back on the bed. Seras rolled her eyes at the drama queen and tried to go back to her own studying, but her friend would have none of that.

"Why does he make us study so hard?" Sarah complained as she rubbed her tired eyes. "We have to read so many pages a night, and still he drills us on every little detail."

The evening history lessons had now occupied a week of their time, including the weekends, and the entire class was exhausted from the studying. The only bright spot for the students was the dinner which awaited them after the period, one always ready to be served when they got down to the hall. Walter and Ms. Wolchester, though, had been unusually absent since the first day.

Seras sighed and looked out the window of their small dorm room. The red and orange leaves were softly being swept about by the gentle breeze as a few students wandered around in the growing dusk. The campus was relatively empty as many occupants had fled for the last nice weekend to enjoy what little freedom they had away from books and teachers.

Saturday night was coming upon them, and they had too much homework to be able to party the hours away.

"There must be something for us to do other than study" Sarah wailed as lifted her legs and settled her feet on the wall which lay beside her bed. "Have any ideas, Seras?" she asked her quiet comrade.

"We could go for a walk" Seras suggested with hope as she turned from the window. "It's a really nice evening."

"I guess we could" her friend replied with an exaggerated sigh as she righted herself and got her shoes on. "But if I get frostbite, I am so blaming you for it."

"Alright" the blond laughed in good humor as she readied herself for the chilly trudge.

The nights had been steadily growing cooler as the week had progressed, and recently the temperature had dropped well below freezing during the nights. Thankfully their dormitory had a decent heating system, regardless of the age of the building, and they had been comfortable.

The walks to their late class, though, had been fraught with frost. They had taken to wearing their winter coats because of the cold, and the classroom had become like a freezer after the sun went down. Their professor had overlooked the students' heavy attire because of their constant teeth chattering and his own need to wear his woolen trench coat.

The two friends trudged down the stairs from their second-story dorm room and were met with a touch of cold air as they opened the front doors of the building. Sarah pulled back from the chilly evening but Seras was intent on enjoying a walk, so she grabbed the other's arm and pulled her into the outside world.

With a laugh they tumbled onto the ground, cushioned from a hard fall by the deep piles of leaves which littered the sidewalks. They both rushed to their feet and began chasing one another as their minds were refreshing with the clean, open air and the evening looked to be clear and bright.

After a while they found themselves exhausted with the running and settled down to a more restive pace as they began their trudge around the small town.

Cheddar was little more than a village, really, as they wandered the few streets lined with stores which the locals fondly called Main. The rest of the area was comprised of small houses with quaint little lawns and a brook or two which meandered its way through yards. Forest surrounded the town on all sides, a thick vegetation of old oaks and hickories which lay open enough to allow sun to filter through the branches.

Farmland lay scattered here and there outside the limits of the town, and cows contentedly chewed their hay as they watched the goings ons of their owners and neighbors.

The only oddity in the entire area was the manor which stood on the highest hill. The inhabitants of Cheddar appeared not to notice the strange house with its old-style architecture and foreboding presence. They never spoke of the house nor, especially, of the owner, and apparently no young rascal dared even to venture into the woods which surrounded the grounds.

The college held a little more respect, though no less fear, for the silent watcher, and all freshmen were bluntly told to stay away from the forest and structure. Whether there had been suspicions of any formal communication between the officials and the owner had been solidified when the evening class accommodations had been announced.

The two friends had only learnt about the new contract a few days before the term had begun, and the official letter explaining the situation had given no reason for the sudden partnership. The students in the class had no choice to change the required course, so they had been forced to accept their fate and the end to their evening fun.

The companions trudged through the paths among the old stone and wooden houses, many of which showed their ancient age, and through the streets lined with old sidewalks and crumpled leaves. A few pumpkins were already standing proudly amidst a yard or on a small porch, showing the occupants' fond wish for an early Halloween.

The two young women smiled at a few children who were playing in the yard of one of the houses, and they waved as the kids smiled back. A few lone dogs strayed about the area and many cats could be seen scampering away for the night hunt of juicy mice.

The shadows were lengthening as their footsteps walked through the tumbling leaves and amidst tall trees. Neither had said a word to each other since they had stopped their chasing, and nor could they explain their sudden moody silence. Soon, though, a deeper mystery arose as both suddenly stopped in their tracks and looked to where they had come.

The pair had found they had returned to the manor house upon the hill.

The twilight of the day, when night replaced day, was at its zenith as the sun was blocked from view by the imposing structure. The windows were dark and impenetrable while the creeping vines along the rough brick walls, with their seasonal change from green to a dark red and orange, shone brightly against the dull gray.

The neglected buildings upon the grounds were a distance away, but still their empty window panes and sunken roofs reminded the young women of skulls of long-forgotten people. The leaves from the many trees around the manor blew about in a sudden gale and scattered them along the gravel drive and uncut grass of the property.

They looked for a long while at the manor atop the hill, with its oppressive air which seemed to seek control over them.

And for a brief moment, they both thought it had.

Then they stirred, and the spell was broken for a while as they sought conversation.

"Seras, have you ever wondered about this old place?" Sarah asked her friend as her eyes remained on the structure. Her voice was soft and quiet. "I mean, any time at all?"

"No..." Seras honestly replied in a hushed whisper. The enigma before them was like an unspoken rule of silence. "I can't think of any."

"That's a little weird, isn't it?" Sarah commented as she wrapped her arms around herself as a cold breeze drifted by. The manor looked foreboding as its shadow stretched out toward them. "Maybe it's time to get back to studying."

"Agreed" her friend quickly answered as they both swiftly turned on their heels.

Both girls screamed as they suddenly ran into someone standing behind them. Their peels of terror broke the trance and the dusk was filled with laughter from their supposed assailants.

"Ouch!" they heard a familiar voice complain as they took a step back and looked upward.

Their three male companions were standing before them with wide grins on their faces. Seras had run into Pip while Sarah had collided with Harry. The Captain stood in back of them both with his eyes fixed on them in amusement. The Frenchman was comically holding his chest where he had been 'bruised,' and he had tipped his typical cowboy hat to one side as if he had been knocked hard.

"Why would such lovely ladies be walking here at zis hour?" Pip teasingly wondered. "Do you not have better zings to do?"

"We _were_ enjoying the evening with a walk" Sarah dryly commented as she scowled at the boys. "Until you guys showed up to ruin the mood."

"A strange mood you two were in" Harry noted with some concern in his voice. "You both stood there for quite some time. What caught your attention?"

"The house" Seras softly replied as she looked over her shoulder toward the building.

The other four turned their eyes upon the manor, and each in their turn wondered at the eerie stillness of the grounds and the long shadows of the structure. Something within themselves told them the atmosphere was all wrong.

"Ze mood fits ze owner quite nicely" they suddenly heard Pip mutter and all attention turned to him. He grew uneasy with all the questioning eyes. "Ze owner's name. Remember?"

"Oh, right" Seras recalled as she thought of her reaction to the unusual title. "Lucifer...Lucifer Vulgate, wasn't it?" she asked her companions.

"That's sounds right" Harry muttered under his breath in contemplation. "It's unusual to hear the first name, and the second is contrary to the first."

"Contrary?" Sarah asked as she blinked in confusion. "How?"

"The Vulgate is a version of the bible" he explained as he stroked his chin. "A pretty old one, if my memory serves me well."

"Oui" Pip agreed as he crossed his arms and tipped his head forward to cover most of his face with the brim. "A strange name for a strange owner."

The rest could hardly argue with his assessment, and instead they wondered what predicament they may have found themselves in. The university's attempts at cheap classrooms and free meals for their students was turning into expensive emotional tuition for their pupils.

But maybe they were making too much of the situation.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting hungry" Sarah announced as she brightened up the atmosphere with a wide, mischievous grin. "And some unhealthy, typical college food of pizza sounds good right now."

"I couldn't agree with you more" Seras replied as the boys nodded in unison.

"Yes, you can come" Sarah spoke as she rolled her eyes. "But try not to eat it all" she requested as they headed through the woods.

Seras, however, felt compelled to turn for one final look at the manor before the trees blocked her view.

The lonely structure seemed to reach out to her with its stretched shadow, commanding her to return to the halls of darkness and cold stone.

She shook off the feeling and looked up past the roof and toward the sky. The clear dusk had been deceiving as clouds suddenly appeared behind the manor and floated toward the town.

They were in for a storm.


	4. Deal With the Devil

A/N: An unusually short chapter for myself.

**Deal With the Devil**

Seras and the group sat around the table and stared at the remnants of several pizzas on their dish plates. They eyes each other suspiciously as no one dared move from their seats.

"So who's going to do it?" Sarah finally asked after a few more tense moments. "We can't sit here all night."

The companions had decided to take their pizzas outside, and the chilly night air was upon them as the sun finally set in the sky. A cool, light breeze had begun to blow and the other patrons had left their tables and sought the shelter of the pizzeria.

"I would gladly take zee honors, mademoiselles" Pip spoke up as he smiled widely. "But I 'ave forgotten my wallet."

"So you never planned on paying for the pizzas?" Seras accused as she glared at the other gentlemen. "Do any of you two have any money?" she questioned, and the young woman rolled her eyes as they both shook their heads. Then she turned to her final hope. "Well, I suppose it's up to us then, Sarah."

"Um, not quite, Seras" her friend sheepishly smiled as she fidgeted in her seat. "I kind of left my purse in the room."

"Fine, I'll pay for it then" she sighed as she stood to her feet and began rummaging for loose cash. "Mr. Michaels has given us that much homework that everyone would forget their money" she grumbled as someone leisurely passed the pizzeria.

At the mention of their professor's name, however, a man strolling by suddenly stopped and looked at the crowd. His eyes were wide and he quickly shifted them from one student to the other in agitation.

"Professor Michaels?" he repeated in a shocked voice as he attracted their attention. He leaned over the black iron-barred railing which separated the sitting area from the rest of the sidewalk. "You are in Professor Michaels' class?"

"Oui, monsieur" Pip replied as he looked to his friends for an explanation. The man's dress resembled that of a hobo, and he smelled strongly of liquor. "But what do-"

"Then you are part of that cursed group!" the stranger exclaimed as he pointed an accusing finger at them. "You have doomed us all by invading the lair of the demon!"

"Calm down, Charlie" a woman suddenly spoke as she walked through the doors. She wore the uniform of one of the waitresses, and a scowl of annoyance was on her face. "What have we told you about scaring our customers."

"No one gives a damn but me" the man grumbled, but after a glance of distrust toward the group he slunk away down the road.

"I apologize for his ranting" the waitress spoke as she began picking up their pizza platters. "He used to not do that very often until he began drinking again."

"We're sorry to hear that" Harry diplomatically spoke as the man went out of sight.

"He made his own choices" the waitress replied as she looked at the stack in her hand. "And speaking of choices, who's going to pay for all of these?"

"I am" Seras grumbled as she held out a fifty pound note toward the employee.

"I'll have to break that inside" she spoke as she took the money.

"Before you go, miss" Harry interrupted as he gently caught her arm. "Could you tell us why we were going to bring destruction to everyone?"

"It's because of that class in the old manor house" she explained with a sigh as she rolled her eyes. "He thinks the place is run by the devil, and anyone who goes in is instantly cursed. Now if you'll let go of my arm so I can get back to work" she hinted as she glared down at his hand.

"Oh, sorry" he apologized as he released her from his hold. "And thanks for the information" he called out as she went inside.

"I think I'll meet her halfway" Seras spoke up as she started for the building. "I have to go to the bathroom anyway."

"We'll wait out here for you" Sarah informed as her friend walked into the brightly lit pizzeria.

Seras blinked at the strong fixtures above, but she quickly walked up to the counter and waited for her change. The waitress was surprised to find her inside.

"You didn't have to come in ya know" she said with a hint of gratitude as she handed her the change. "I would have come back out there."

"I don't mind" Seras shrugged with a smile as she pocketed the money. "I just thought I'd meet you halfway."

"I appreciate it" the waitress thanked as she looked around and then leaned over the counter. "And don't take Charlie's words too much, he yells about curses all the time."

"We won't" the young woman replied as she turned to go to the restroom. She stopped for a moment before she entered and smiled back at the waitress. "After all, how right can he be?"

After she had relieved herself Seras walked outside and stretched her arms after sitting for so long. The cool night air was more refreshing than the closed space of the pizzeria, but only because she was no longer hungry.

Then her eyes fell upon the table and she found to her consternation that her friends had vanished, leaving only their empty chairs and litter.

"Typical" she grumbled as she looked both ways down the street.

There was no sign of her friends and no one else was walking along the dimly lit road, illuminated only occasionally by a street lamp. The breeze blew loose leaves along the old street and most of the shops had shut for the evening, making the scene eerie in its silence and sense of abandonment.

"Just like I feel" Seras spoke aloud as she sighed, tucked up her jacket for warmth, and strode down the street toward the college.

Her shoes echoed along the empty sidewalk as she nervously looked around herself. Few of the stores left lights on, and she could barely make out the hint of still mannequins, empty counters, and glaring windows. The lights from the pizzeria grew dimmer with every step she took, and soon they were merely a glow behind her as she walked on.

"This is not good" she whispered to herself as she quickened her steps.

A noise behind her suddenly caused her to stop and look over her shoulder.

When she saw nothing but the usual shadows of the alleys and stores, she turned and began to nearly sprint down the street. The instinct to flee from the darkness was encroaching upon her mind and she willingly obeyed the command.

Her arms pumped at her sides as she again looked back and her eyes widened as a shadow seemed to impossibly shift its form from one of the light poles. She ran faster as she looked ahead and with jubilation saw the glimmer of the campus not far ahead.

Suddenly a tall figure stepped out from one of the alleys and she screamed in terror as he grabbed hold of her.

Seras wrestled in his strong grasp as she pounded at his chest, but nothing would budge his grip.

"How amusing" the person spoke in a calm, entertained voice.

Seras' attention quickly caught on his tone and her head snapped up. She found herself looking into the pale face of a grinning gentleman, while most of his body seemed to melt into the shadows with his dark, formal attire.

"Seras!" she suddenly heard down the street from where she had come. "Seras!"

Her friends swiftly came into view with Pip and Sarah at the head, and she quickly turned out of the man's grasp and folded her arms over her chest. Their faces showed their worry as they sprinted toward her and a part of the young woman's ire melted at their expressions, but not enough.

"Where were you guys!?" she angrily shouted as she scowled at her friends. "You said you'd be waiting outside!?"

"We just went down the street to the clothes store" Sarah admitted as she reached her friend with breathless gasps. "We heard you scream and we got hear as quick as we could."

"Who iz your friend?" Pip suddenly questioned as all eyes turned on the tall man standing behind her.

"Oh, him?" she spoke as she turned around and stepped away from the strange gentleman. "I think I just ran into him" she admitted as she blushed in embarrassment at her overreaction. "I'm sorry if I hurt you, Mr. ...?"

"Merely call me Alucard" he introduced at he made a sweeping bow toward the group. "And no, I am was not harmed. Though your scream was quite painful" he spoke with a chuckle as he rubbed his ears.

"Sorry about that" Seras apologized as she rubbed the back of her head. "I thought you were attacking me."

"What were you doing to her?" Pip questioned as he stepped in front of Seras.

"I was merely stopped her from running into me" he explained as he looked over their young faces in interest.

Seras shivered when his gaze reached her.

"Do you often come out of alleys in the dark, sir?" Harry asked as he looked at the pitch black passage the man had emerged from.

"Even evil may fear the dark" the gentleman philosophically announced as he folded his arms over his chest. "But perhaps I do owe you all an apology, for scaring your friend. Would dinner tomorrow night suffice?" he asked as he looked around the group.

"Would it!" Sarah exclaimed in glee as a big smile appeared on her face. The others' expressions, however, showed no sign of acceptance. "Wouldn't it?" she asked with less enthusiasm.

"I do not know" Pip hesitantly replied as he rubbed his chin with his hand. "We do not know where you live" he pointed out.

"Ah, my apologies again" Alucard answered as he took another bow. "I have a small, rented house for the fall at the end of the lane near the woods, and I would be most honored if you would join me in a meal. My dinners are often...lonely" he explained with a short chuckle.

"Well, si-" Harry began to speak.

"Alucard" the stranger interrupted with a click of his tongue in disapproval.

"Alucard, then" Harry corrected himself as he again took on the role of leader. "If it will please you for us to come, we may as well."

"Good" Alucard replied with a nod as he stepped out into the full light of the street.

The group members unconsciously recoiled at the sight of his strange pallor and unusual height, and the unfamiliar scent which wafted to their noses was most unpleasant. Overall their first impression of his stately manner was much changed as they beheld his true self, one of mild repulsion and a distasteful aura.

"Then tomorrow I will see you" he spoke as he again bowed and turned down the street.

They quietly watched him walk, his movements a mysterious blend of a lithe cat and a silent predator.

"Did anyone else get the impression he was older than he looked?" Harry asked as the stranger walked out of hearing range.

"There was more than just that feeling" Seras replied as she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. She could still remember the feel of his hands on her arms, and she swore he had left imprints where his fingers had touched. "Even his touch felt unnatural."


	5. A Toast to Success

A/N: Another chapter bites the dust.

**A Toast to Success**

"Seras?" Sarah asked in a falsely calm voice.

"Yes?" the blond replied.

"What are we supposed to wear?"

"No idea."

"Oh" the friend answered as she looked vacantly at her open dressed drawers. "Um, what are you wearing?"

"Some pair of jeans and a warm, clean sweater" Seras casually informed as she sat on her bed staring at more homework she had yet to finish for Mr. Michaels' class. "The boys are wearing the same."

Sarah blinked in thought as her eyes wandered over her wardrobe.

"Is a clean sweater mandatory or optional?" she sheepishly asked as she scratched the back of her head.

"Mandatory" her friend firmly responded as she looked up from her book. "Didn't you do your laundry last weekend like you were supposed to?"

"Um, no?" was her companion's lame response as she sighed. "Can I borrow one of yours?"

"Sure" Seras replied as she shook her head. "But please be careful with it" she pleaded before she handed over one of her clean sweaters.

"No guarantees" Sarah uncertainly replied as she gravely shook her head. "You know how much of a klutz I am."

"I know" the blond agreed as she thought of the many times her friend had ruined borrowed clothing.

During their conversation the hour for the dinner quickly approached and they prepared themselves for the meal. Each girl donned her outfit, and they walked out to the front of the dorm building and waited for their escorts.

Soon enough the three boys arrived, each dressed in casual but clean attire. Even Pip had somehow managed to wash his hat, though a few grease stains were evident along the brim. After everyone had finished inspecting one another and comparing their state of dress, the group went on their way.

Unfortunately, Alucard's vague directions to his rented abode made them all hesitant to be the one to lead them to his home. Harry was finally, and unconsciously, elected and he walked at the front while the others followed like nervous children.

The lane their new acquaintance had spoken of was one they all knew, though few had actually had more than a passing glimpse of the area. Because of the expensive renting conditions, no college students resided on the lane so there had been no parties in any of the houses. The neighbors would have not stood for such racket, besides, since most were aged couples or single spinsters, long time residents of the village.

The scene was picturesque as they turned the corner and caught their first view of the lane. Giant trees lined both sides and the old Victorian mansions stood in imposing fashions, as though lording over the entire village. Their windows were dark, showing their owners had retired for the night. The street lights, powered by old-fashioned gas, gave little glow and their dim comfort made many shadows between the homes.

Instead of sidewalks, patches of ground were in front of the old homes and the students cautiously walked into unchartered territory as they followed the beaten paths. They had clumped together out of caution as the wind stirred the leaves along the road and not a sound was heard, even from the other close streets. The view of the dark woods just beyond the lane did little to help their nerves as the branches swung listlessly in the soft breeze.

"What the 'ell are you doing here!?"

The girls cried out in surprise and the men quickly turned to the voice as their eyes fell upon a figure stumbling toward them from the direction of the woods. The person finally stepped out under one of the old gas lights along the houses and they realized their assailant was only the drunk from the previous evening.

He appeared drunk again, and the bottle in his hand confirmed all their suspicions as he staggered forward.

"Get out a here while you can!" he yelled in a slur as he raised the bottle unsteadily above his head. "Ya don't know what yer doing!"

"Just a dinner date, sir" Harry tried to explain as he stepped forward with his hands open in an unthreatening manner.

"Ya can't go!" Charlie screamed again as he suddenly rushed forward with glass in hand.

The scene would have turned ugly had the drunk not tripped over his own feet and fallen soundly to the ground. A single groan escaped his lips while the others feared to move, and then he was still. Harry cautiously moved over to his prone body and knelt beside the strange man to check his condition.

"He knocked himself out" he surmised as he felt a steady pulse and saw no wounds.

"Then maybe we shouldn't wait for the kind sir to wake up to leave" Pip sarcastically suggested as he passed by the drunk.

"Agreed" Sarah readily concurred as she rushed to catch up with Pip as Seras and Hans slowly walked around the man's prostrate body.

"Will he be okay?" Seras asked as he noticed Harry was slow to join them.

"He'll be fine" her friend replied as he stood and took a final survey of the man. "He'll just have one heck of a hangover tomorrow."

The others nervously laughed at the foreseeable consequences, for most knew it themselves, but still the atmosphere was subdued as they traveled on. They knew no motor cars would travel this road at night, since most occupants were already in bed, but leaving the man near the road made them all feel uncomfortable. As if they were leaving him vulnerable to something more than just stray cats and angry old residents.

However, they had the more pressing matter of finding their host's house. They were quickly running short of buildings as they neared the end, and slowly it dawned on all of them that perhaps his abode _was_ the last house on the street.

True to their luck they found the lights of the last house brightly lit in a welcoming style and the gate of the white picket fence open in invitation. The structure was nestled against the forest of trees, with the yard actually blanketed several inches deep in the fallen leaves.

As Harry moved forward, once again unofficial leader, the front door suddenly swung open an in the doorway stood Alucard.

"Good evening" he greeted as he gave them all a bow. "Welcome to my abode, at least for the evening" he added with a strange smile.

The friends looked at each other in confusion, but they all shrugged off his strange welcome and walked up the steps of the porch. He stepped aside and allowed them to enter, looking at each in turn as they stepped over the threshold.

Thankfully the companions were relieved at the ordinary state of affairs in the house. The walls were white and relatively bare, only broken by windows and a few portraits of landscape. The floors were wooden and the stairs which led to the second story held a running carpet with a simple bannister.

They stood in an entrance hall with a plain but ancient half table on the wall to their right with a hat and coat stand to their left.

"I believe you are a little late" he noted as he looked at the large grandfather clock which stood against the wall past the stairs opening.

"Please take off your coats and make yourselves comfortable" Alucard invited as he swept his hand past the grandfather clock. "The parlor is beyond there, and you must excuse me while I finish with the dinner preparations."

"Of course" Harry spoke for them all as their host went to the right and, presumably, in the direction of the kitchen.

"You know something" Sarah piped up as she began stripping off her coat. "I wasn't really expecting his place to look like this at all."

"Me either" Seras agreed as she hung up her coat and cautiously stepped toward the stairs. "Maybe something more...I don't know..." she trailed off.

"Something more sinister?" Pip suggested without sarcasm as he moved to the front and looked to the left of the stairs.

A door stood in the wall which traveled followed parallel to the stairs, and when he jingled the nob the portal did not open. Locked.

"Let's not touch anything that isn't ours" Harry suggested as he whacked at Pip's hand. The Frenchman was too fast, though, and avoided the hit. "I think he said the parlor was that way" he spoke as he pointed down the hall.

"Yeah, right" Pip agreed half-heartedly as he took one last look at the door and turned toward the clock.

"What do you think we'll have for dinner?" Seras asked as she tried to relieve the tense atmosphere.

"Maybe his latest victims?" a voice suddenly chimed as they all jumped in surprise.

Their host stood at the opening to the parlor with a wide smile on his lips. He had evidently been listening to their conversation for quite some time.

"Dinner is served" he announced as he pointed to a doorway to the right of the hall past the clock.

His guests sheepishly followed his invitation and each walked forward and through the doorway. They found before them a stately room with old, plush chairs with clawed feat and a china hutch filled with evidently ancient objects to against the single long wall. A window looked out upon the back of the house, showing a yard filled with more leaves, wild brush, and gnarled old trees.

The long table, however, dominated the room, it's top filled with delicious foods of all varieties, from pastries and simple breads to roast beef and Hungarian Hunter's soup. The smell which wafted from the food made their mouths water in anticipation of the feast.

"Please be seated" he instructed as he himself settled in to the head of the table.

The college students, with their meager amount of etiquette, seated with the two women across from the three men. They nervously looked at one another, not sure when or where to begin.

"Don't hesitate to help yourselves" their host offered as he sat back in his high-back chair with one arm slung across arm rest.

Bright smiles lit the faces of the college students as they eagerly, with some lack of manners, dug into their feast. Spoons and forks flew as they wolfed down delicious desserts and fantastic meats. Their host, however, merely watched the proceedings with some amusement as his plate remained empty, though his wine glass was full of red wine.

"May I ask a few questions of my guests?" he interrupted as they slowed down their scarfing in embarrassment.

"Okay" Seras hesitantly replied as the others looked at one another in concern.

"They're nothing serious, merely idle curiosity" he reassured with a slight smile. "But by your manners I was curious if you all were orphans."

"All but Harry and Sarah have no families" Seras responded as she pointed to the two with relations. "Though Hans and Pip have known one another for quite a few years" as she nodded to the two, each in their turn.

"I see" he mused as he suddenly reached for a bottle of wine which had lain amongst the food. "Would anyone care for some wine?" he asked as he looked to each of his guest. The students had not noticed the alcohol, so hidden had it been. "A vintage I myself favor."

"We would be honored" Harry spoke as the others nodded.

"Wonderful" Alucard answered as he stood and began pouring the wine into each of their glasses. Then he resumed his place at the head of the table, standing this time. "A toast" he announced as he held up his glass. The others followed suit. "To old friends, and new ones."

The companions nodded in agreement and the all hesitantly touched their lips to the containers.

Sarah, however, with her limited inexperience with fine dining, decided to try out the swirling motion she had seen others perform with wine glasses.

The effect was disastrous.

"Oh no!" she cursed as much of the glass came spilling out onto her borrowed sweater. "It's ruined!" she cried out as the red wine stained the clothing.

"Perhaps not" Alucard tried to sooth. He turned to Harry. "Would you lead the young lady to the bathroom on the second story?"

"I'm not sure..." he hesitantly argued as he looked between Alucard and Sarah's tearful face. He made up his mind and gave her an encouraging smile. "Let's hurry" he spoke as he walked to the other side of the table and offered his hand.

Sarah, surprised, was pleased by his gallant attitude and quickly took the offered hand. Together they exited the dining room while the others moved uncomfortably in their seats. They were now down two for the moment.

"A finish to our toast" he announced with mirth as he again raised his glass. The others could hardly argue as they half-heartedly raised their own. "To the wine, and all it means."

The guests watched as he finished his glass and he waited for them to do the same. Slowly they placed their lips on the rim and drank most of their cups but the taste of the wine seemed bitter to their tongues. Then Alucard took their glasses, with the excuse of the wine being of poor quality, and left for the kitchen with the bottle also in hand.

Within a few tense minutes the two friends returned, with Sarah blushing brightly, and they took their seats. The feast resumed, but with a subdued atmosphere as all took care to eat without spill. Talk was slim and all just hurried to finish what was on their plates.

Alucard did not return until they had finished their meal, and he announced it was the hour at which he retired.

"I hope you will again accept my invitation some time in the near future" he kindly spoke as he escorted them to the door.

"It would be our pleasure, sir" Harry politely returned, though all inwardly shuddered at the thought.

"Then I will bid you goodnight" Alucard finished as he bowed, stepped back and closed the door.

The friends quietly walked down the steps and out into the street, where the cool night air allowed them to speak.

"He's weird" Sarah bluntly commented as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I'll second that" Pip agreed as he shook his head. "That guy is weird on a new level."

Seras and Harry remained quiet and allowed their companions to speak aloud what they were all thinking. The dinner had been well enough, even fantastic, but their host had been unusual in both manner and word.

He was so old fashioned, especially for his apparent youthful age, and the toasts strange, to say the least. No one could quite figure out what the second one had meant, even after Harry and Sarah had been told his words.

"It's really weird about that glass, too" Sarah mentioned as she shook her head. The others turned their attention to their friend. "It just felt like the glass was suddenly nudged out of my hand" she admitted. "Almost like someone had made me do it."

"Like it had been planned."


	6. Hidden Affairs

A/N: Another in a long line of chapters.

**Hidden Affairs**

Seras groaned as she rolled over in bed. Her head felt like someone were trying to pound their way into her skull and the quietest of noises hurt her ears as she buried herself in her covers. The light was blinding to her eyes and she felt on the verge of collapsing back to sleep.

She felt like she had a hangover.

"Come on, Seras, time to get up" Sarah called from across the room. "It's past one already."

"Ugh" Seras replied as she struggled to dig deeper into the sheets.

"Are you feeling all right?" her friend asked as she crept over to the bed and lifted the blankets.

Seras hissed angrily at the intrusion of the light and sank further back into the sheets.

"Hey, don't get mad at me for you being lazy" Sarah countered as she frowned at her roommate's unusually grumpy behavior. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go to lunch with me or stay in your cave until Mr. Michaels' class."

"Ugh" her friend replied as she made no effort to rise.

"Fine" Sarah bluntly spoke in an angered tone.

Her roommate picked up her bag and slammed the door on her way out. Seras felt the walls vibrate and she winced as her ears throbbed from the impact of the loud sound. The day seemed to stretch on forever, and she groaned as a hint of light tried to sneak into her abode.

At the moment, with her sensitive eyes and throbbing head, she wished she were dead.

* * *

Slowly the day faded and night took its place. The bright light vanished and the world quieted as people settled in with their friends and relatives for dinner and television.

After the last bits of rays finally vanished from the room, Seras finally felt well enough to emerge from her hiding place. She still felt unsettled, but her ears barely hurt and her eyes were perfectly at ease in the artificial light of the room.

"About time" she heard Sarah mutter as she slipped out from the covers.

"What time is it?" she murmured as she headed for her dresser.

"About five" her friend replied as she stuffed her books into her bag. "Which means if we don't hurry we're going to be late for Mr. Michaels' class."

"I'll be ready in a bit" Seras encouraged as she quickly dressed and began stuffing her school items into her own bag. Then she slowed down and sighed as she noticed the heavy silence between them. "I'm sorry about earlier...I don't know what got into me."

"It's all right" Sarah replied as she shrugged her shoulders. Then she turned her head and gave her roommate a devilish grin. "I didn't realize you had it in you to be such a university student."

The two friends, now reconciled, hurried out of their room and through the dorm's front doors. They found Harry impatiently waiting for them outside, along with two bedraggled others. Seras could barely recognize Pip and Hans, they looked so pale and tired.

"Don't mind them" Harry assured as they went on their way. "They slept the entire day and I barely got them out of bed for this class." Then he caught a good glance of Seras' face, and his own grew grave. "I see you've been hit with the same" he noted.

"She's just being lazy today" Sarah assured him as they passed under the canopy of trees which began the woods. "And we know they are" she spoke as she jabbed a finger at the two boys who lingered behind.

Their silence to her teasing, however, upset the mood and the conversation petered out to nothing as they continued through the trees and into the open area of the manor. The fall night had fallen upon them and the lights from the large house seemed to glow eerily from the tall windows. The grounds held shadows in every corner s they hurried across the great lawn and through the creaking old doors.

Walter greeted them as usual as they walked up the stairs, past the first landing upon which he stood.

"Good evening" he bowed as looked at each student in turn.

For the first time since they had met, Seras didn't like the expression on his face as he turned to her. His smile seemed to hold some hidden meaning as his eyes crinkled up in secretive amusement. She thought he gave the same look to Pip and Hans as they passed, but she would have to confirm it later as the clock in the entrance hall rang the hour of class.

The class seemed to drag on for two eternities as the group sat in their usual spot. Seras noticed the two invalid boys perk up as the lecture wore on, but she herself felt restless as she squirmed in her chair. She wasn't sure if it was hunger or a need to stretch her legs, but she was grateful when Walter came to lead them to the banquet hall.

As they all stood in line for the feast, Seras noticed the two boys held mostly empty plates as the passed through the buffet. She herself felt famished, but nothing on the course seemed to interest her appetite and she found her own plate scarce of food. The friends all noticed the unusual actions of the often starving companions, and their faces were grim.

"Does someone want to tell us what is going on?" Harry finally asked as he looked between the three pale faces.

Hans merely shook his head and shrugged, but Pip opted to speak.

"We are not hungry" he explained as he looked down and shuffled his food around his plate.

"All three of you aren't hungry?" their unofficial leader questioned as he turned to all of them. Seras turned her face, unable to state exactly how she felt. "And when did this start?"

"This day" Pip as he dropped his fork and leaned back. "We woke up, and there was no hunger."

"You woke up only because I shouted in your ears" Harry noted with a frown. "Was that the same for you, Seras?" he asked as he turned to the strawberry-blond.

"Yes" she replied as she fidgeted in her seat. "But..."

"But what?"

"But I was hungry. And I still am..." she trailed off as her stomach suddenly made a loud growling sound.

"Then why don't you guys eat?" Sarah interrupted as she shoved her full plate toward her friends. "There's no sense starving yourselves."

"But that's just it" Seras tried to explain. "I don't want any of the food. Do you, Pip?"

"Not really" he bluntly replied as he pushed his plate away in disgust as Hans did the same.

"We're hungry, but not for any of this food" she reiterated.

Any further discussion, however, was interrupted as the door at the end of the hall suddenly opened and Miss Wolchester stepped out. Rather than the usual air of formality she had held on their previous relations with her, she now stood stiff and erect as she walked between the tables. She didn't bother with any of the students until she reached the table of the troubled companions.

Miss Wolchester looked down upon the seated academics in open disgust as she held her arms behind her back. She peered at each of them in turn, but like Walter her eyes stayed on the three pale students the longest. She especially sneered at Seras as her eyes narrowed.

"I see you are not enjoying the meal we have offered" she noted as her gaze broached the full and mostly empty plates. "Is it not to your liking?"

"We're just not hungry today, Miss Wolchester" Harry replied as best he could considering her look was venomous.

"Then do you wish for something else?" she asked, though she ground her teeth together in agitation as she spoke the words.

She raised her arm and the door she had come through was pushed open. Walter came into the hall carrying a tray with three wine glasses and a small bottle filled with red liquid. The companions looked nervously at one another, and their hostess noticed their nervousness as the servant came up to the table.

"Perhaps I interrupted something important?" she commented as a smirk came on her face. "You all seem to be so nervous, perhaps I shoulder offer this drink another night."

"Miss Wolchester" Walter quietly reprimanded as the group blinked in confusion.

The servant and mistress seemed to battle for a moment, but the hidden argument was quickly over as the young woman scowled and signaled for him to pour the drinks as she turned her back on the group. She marched out of the hall, but not through her customary door as she left through the main entrance.

"You must pardon the mistress" Walter apologized as he poured the three glasses. "She has been under heavy stress lately."

"Walter, I don't mean to be ungrateful but why are there only three glasses for five people?" Harry suddenly noted as he looked about the table.

"I mentioned the pallor of your friends to Miss Wolchester, and she agreed perhaps they needed some wine to help their complexion" he explained as he set the drinks before the three.

Seras, Pip and Hans looked doubtfully at their glasses. None of them wanted to take the first drink, but they could hardly refuse with Walter standing over them waiting expectantly. The two boys turned to one another, and then they both slowly cast their eyes on Seras.

They had silently nominated her as the first test subject.

"Oh fine" Seras replied as she rolled her eyes and carefully lifted her glass.

The thick liquid barely moved as she put the lip of the glass cup to her mouth. She breathed a deep sigh, closed her eyes, and downed the entire glass in one long gulp.

To her surprise she found the drink to her liking.

"Gentleman?" Walter then inquired as he waited for their turn.

"Yes, sir" Pip replied with a shaky grin as Hans and he lifted their glasses and followed Seras' example.

"There" Walter spoke in a pleased tone as he picked up the glasses. "I do hope you feel better soon" he wished as he bowed and left the friends to themselves.

Sarah waited until the door had closed behind the strange servant before she turned to her friends.

"Well?" she asked as she gave them a look of curiosity. "What did it taste like?"

"I...I'm not sure" Seras admitted as she shook her head. She was hesitant to admit, but the flavor had been very pleasing and she felt more refreshed than she had since the beginning of the term. "The taste was familiar, but I can't quite place it."

"Oui" Pip agreed as he leant back in his chair and allowed his hat to cover most of his face as he rest his chin on his chest. "Ze flavor is very familiar."

"The density of the drink certainly was unusual" Harry noted as he rubbed his chin with one hand.

"And that woman's face" Sarah remembered as she dramatically shook as though from chill. She wrapped her arms around herself for more effect. "She was mad about something."

The group had no more time for discussion, however, as the clock in the hall chimed the hour to return to the classroom. Curiously Walter came forth from the kitchen to escort the students back to the room, something he had never done before. His presence gave them no privacy to talk about the strange behavior of Miss Wolchester and they each slipped back into their catatonic states as Mr. Michaels resumed his lecture.

The remaining class period slipped by in a haze and the students mechanically stood after dismissal and gathered together their books and bags. They all made their way into the hall and the lights were turned off as the professor followed his pupils.

The group of friends habitually moved together down the passage and the stairs into the main entrance hall.

"So how do you feel?" Harry asked the three pale friends as they passed by the ancient clock to the pair of old doors.

"Fine" Pip replied with a shrug as he spoke for them all.

"None of you feel hunger?" he questioned as he gave them all a stern look.

"Only a little" Seras admitted as she bundled herself into her coat against the cool night air as they trudged out onto the lawn.

"So do you want to go to the pizzeria or something?" Sarah suggested as they crunched their way through the fallen leaves.

The air was crisp and they could see their breath as they entered the dark woods.

"I'm fine" her friend replied with a smile. "And those two need to lose some weight" she joked as Pip lifted his chin in mild insult.

"Then I guess we'll see you boys tomorrow" Sarah spoke as they parted ways after the forest.

"Au revoir" Pip called and Harry waved as they went off to their rented house.

"Well, I'm glad that's over" Sarah sighed as they tramped to their dorm room.

"What's over?" Seras asked as she shook her head as though to shake her thoughts loose.

She had a far-off expression on her face which did not escape her friend's notice. She jumped ahead and turned around to face the blond with her arms over her chest and her foot tapping the ground.

"What is wrong with you?" she questioned in an impatient tone. "First getting up late, then the boys not eating, and now I can't even have a conversation with you."

"I'm sorry" Seras apologized as she turned away. "I guess we must have caught something last night."

"Like a case of the strangeness" Sarah noted with a scowl as she sighed and turned back on their path. "I wish we hadn't gone to that Alucard's place." Then her eyes lip up and she turned to her friend in worry. "You don't think he put anything in the food, do you?" she suggested.

"Probably not" her companion replied with a shake of her head. "We all ate the dishes in front of us."

"But what about the wine?" the other girl remembered as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "After all, only you, Pip and Hans had any of it. Harry and I were upstairs cleaning my clothes...after that strange spill" she added.

Seras bit her lip as she thought over her friend's comments. She was right in that only the three ill friends had drank the strange wine, but what reason would he have in making them sick? They could easily trace his whereabouts for the police. Besides, the entire story sounded shaky.

"Maybe we just caught some strange flu" she suggested as their dorm building came into view. "Anyway, why would he want to do anything? He doesn't even know us."

"I guess..." Sarah replied without conviction as they trudged up the stairs to the second story. "But I still think something's wrong with that guy."

"Agreed" Seras laughed as they unlocked their door and threw their bags on the beds.

"Well" Sarah sighed as she flopped down on her covers. "I guess we'd better get studying. Michaels gave us enough homework to keep us busy through the semester."

"Actually, I wanted to go for a walk" Seras admitted as she turned back towards the door.

"Want me to go with you?" Sarah offered as she slid off her bed.

"That's all right" Seras replied as she opened the door. "I feel like doing this one alone."

"Are you sure?" her friend inquired as she looked out the window to the darkness beyond their comfortable room. "It's pretty dark out there, and I don't like the idea of you going out alone."

"I'll be careful" the blond promised as she zipped up her coat. "And besides, it's a pretty small town. What could go wrong?"

"Fine" Sarah finally succumbed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "But don't go anywhere where there's no street lights, okay?"

"I won't" Seras swore as she closed the door behind herself and walked down the hall to the stairs.

The young woman opened the front doors of the dorm and breathed a sigh of relief as she inhaled the night air. The cramped confines of the room and nearly stifled her in such a short time, but now she felt refreshed as she let her feet take her where they willed.

Seras wandered down streets and around buildings, all the while pondering what had happened since last night. She wondered if Sarah wasn't partially right about the dinner at Alucard's house, where she and the two boys had drank some of the strange wine. It would neatly explain their recent illness, but she still couldn't figure out a motive for any harmful actions he would attempt on some unknown college students.

She was so deep in thought she didn't notice her path was taking her toward the line of trees which bordered the woods.

"Seras!" she suddenly heard a voice call out to her.

The young student snapped her head up from the ground and she looked around herself confusedly for a moment before she spotted Pip and Hans down the street. The young Frenchman and his companion were jogging toward her with serious expressions on their faces.

"Hey" he greeted as they came up to where she stood. "What brings such a lovely lady out here at this time of ze night?" he asked as he looked beyond her toward the forest. "And to zis place?"

"I...I don't know" Seras admitted as she shrugged her shoulders. "I just felt like some fresh air and my feet led me here."

"Oui" Pip replied as he nodded his head, though he still seemed distracted by the forest. "Ze same for both of us."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked as she turned to face the trees.

"I believe so" he surmised as in unison they stepped into the forest.

The three companions walked quietly along the path, the leaves crunching softly beneath their soft tread. They looked around themselves in wonder at the long shadows and still, bare branches of the trees which loomed heavy over their heads. Only their trip from the manor to the town had brought them through here by night, and now they found they were willingly making the trip.

"Why are we doing this again?" Seras suddenly asked as a night bird made a soft call.

"I do not know" Pip admitted as he shook his head. "There is some reason, but I cannot tell what it is."

"That's a little vague" she muttered in reply.

"And what of you?" he asked in annoyance. "What are you here?"

"Because..." she lamely answered. "Because...there's something I need to see."

"And that is?"

"The moon?"

"I do not think so."

"Well, you can't blame a girl for tr-" Seras began, but she cut herself short as the trees opened to the manor.

The three friends stopped in their tracks and surveyed the tall, old house which stood on the low hill. The lights were dark and the shadows of the walls loomed across the lawn toward where they stood. It seemed to reach out for them and tempt the group with its very presence, a haunting and forbidden desire.

Pip jumped and let out a surprised yelp as he felt a hand suddenly fall on his shoulder. He turned and scowled at the Captain, who even through the strangeness of the situation appeared calm and collected. He was pointing off in the distance toward one of the old buildings which bordered the forest.

Pip and Seras followed his finger and saw a figure creep cautiously across the lawn and into the old, decrepit structure. The couldn't make out the person from such a distance and in the poor light.

"Well" Pip shrugged as he grinned. "I suppose we should follow zem."

"I guess" Seras hesitantly agreed as they started quietly across the lawn.

The three kept to the shadows of the trees to avoid being spotted as they made their way to the building. A light now burnt weakly through the broken windows, and as they approached they could hear a voice inside apparently arguing loudly with someone else.

The voice clearly belonged to Miss Wolchester, and she was upset about something.

"Why are you doing this, sir?" they heard her sharply question as they reached one of the cracked windows. "Haven't I been loyal to you? Don't I deserve such a reward?"

The companions slunk beneath the sill and sat down on the hard ground. They heard no reply to her questioning, but she continued as if someone had answered.

"How much longer must I wait? Until I'm an old hag?" she accused as they heard her stomp her feet on the worn boards. "What would be the point if I was old and ugly?"

Seras couldn't understand any of the one-sided conversation, and she was horrified as she suddenly realized Pip was getting on his knees to peer into the window. She tried to grab hold of his coat to pull him back down, but she only ended up causing his head to move forward and knock loudly on the wood.

"What was that?" Miss Wolchester sharply asked as they heard feet start toward the window.

"Run!" Pip hissed as he stood and made a dash to the trees.

Hans and Seras quickly followed behind as they sprinted around the building and into the woods, but they were able to catch one more piece of the conversation before they were out of earshot.

"This is your doing, isn't it?!" they heard Miss Wolchester accuse as they finally reached the shrubs.

Then they were into the trees and away from the grounds as they all frantically fought their way to the path. They managed to stick close together and, after a few minutes of struggling, they made their way to the dirt road.

The companions stopped to take in some air and contemplate the situation.

"Does Harry have to know about this?" Pip finally asked as he gasped for air.

"Yes" Seras bluntly replied as she coughed from the exertion. "But we'd better be careful about who we tell."

"Why?" he questioned.

"If the University finds out we were trespassing, we could get kicked out" she reasoned as her heart finally began to calm down.

"Ah, oui" Pip agreed as he nodded his head. "Besides, I do not think zey would believe us."

"Agreed" she replied as they began walking down the path to the village.

Little did they realize their steps were watched as they left the trees and dark shadows behind as someone stepped out onto the path where they had just stood.

Walter softly smiled as he closed his eyes and nodded.

"I agree, sir" he spoke as he looked down the path where they had gone. "I shall make the arrangements."


	7. Character Study

A/N: A setup for the next chapter.

**Character Study**

"I don't believe it" Sarah spoke as she shook her head in amazement. She turned her eyes up to stare at her friends with a scathing glare. "You guys went out into those creepy woods and got into trouble without us!"

The group was sitting outside the pizza parlor at their customary table, and the three adventurers had just finished their tale which had occurred earlier in the evening. Harry and Sarah sat opposite the guilty party, both holding scowls but for different reasons.

"I somewhat agree with Sarah" Harry chimed in as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin in one hand. "What you did was very foolish."

"But we couldn't help it" Pip argued as he shrugged his shoulders. "Ze urge was too great."

"About that urge..." his friend replied as he leaned forward against the table. "Can you explain it more clearly?"

The three looked at one another, each waiting for the other to answer, but no one spoke for a long moment. Then Seras sighed and shook her head.

"We can't" she explained as she folded her arms across her chest. "There's just this feeling of need, like we _needed_ to be there at that place, at that time."

"Almost like you were controlled?" Sarah asked incredulously. "Like mind control or hypnotism, or something like that?"

"Kinda" Seras replied as she bit her lip. "But it feels deep, really deep."

"This is getting us nowhere" Harry interrupted as he noticed the frustrated looks on the other three's faces.

Thankfully he was saved from thinking of a plan by the waitress who arrived with their pizzas. She put the two large plates on the table and gave the boys a flirtatious smile before heading off to serve more tables. Sarah scowled at the buxom employee before she grabbed a slice for herself.

She lifted the chunky, meat-covered pastry to her mouth and was about to take a large bite when she noticed her friends were just sitting there. They were all three grimly looking down upon the delicious offering of calories, but none of them made a move to take their share. Harry noticed their lack of appetite and he slowly put down his own slice.

"Not hungry again?" he slowly assumed as the three looked away with guilty faces. "Perhaps this is something more than bad food" he suggested in a grim tone. "Perhaps this has something to do with-"

"Good evening."

Loud yelps and other exclamations escaped the lips of the party as the voice interrupted Harry's sentence. All heads turned to the walk which lay beyond the sitting area, and they were surprised to find Alucard standing a few feet from the table. He wore a wide smirk on his face as he glimpsed their surprised expressions.

"Did I startle you?" he asked in an amused tone. "I am sincerely sorry if I have."

The group was unconvinced his apology was sincere, but they gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"What brings you out tonight, sir?" Harry asked for them all.

"Merely an evening stroll" he explained as he looked at the relatively untouched pizzas on the table, then to the three empty plates before the troubled friends. "I see our efforts to help your friends has come to nothing."

"Efforts, Alucard?" Sarah asked in confusion.

She and the others could only recall his assistant and butler offering wine earlier, and even Miss Wolchester had been hesitant to help them.

"I am an old acquaintance of the manor's owner" he briefly explained as he brushed aside the question with his hand. "I had told him of your troubles and he felt himself obliged to help. His servant brought you some drink earlier today, yes?" he asked as he appeared to choose his words carefully.

"Yes, he did" Harry answered as he looked closely at his three friends. They sat silently as though entranced by Alucard's mere presence, and their eyes showed some strange, lost light. "I appreciate your efforts on my friends' behalf."

"Ah, but perhaps I can offer one last remedy" Alucard suggested as his eyes light up with some unreadable emotion. "Surely the third try will be the charm, as it is said."

"Really, that's all-" Harry began, but was cut off.

"We accept" Seras suddenly blurted out before she clapped her hand over her mouth in surprise.

Her shocking agreement seemed to shake some of the trance off the others as the other friends stared at her in disbelief.

"Then tomorrow night, at ten, I shall expect the three of you" Alucard spoke with a soft chuckle. "Then your class will not be interrupted."

"I suppose your friend, the owner of the manor, told you about our schedule, sir?" Harry questioned with a suspicious look as he slowly stood to his feet. "I don't recall anyone telling you of our courses."

The others were about to stand up themselves in support of their friend, but a sudden hideous cry from down the street caught their attention. They all looked to see Charlie stumbling down the street with a paper bag in one hand and the other pointing an accusing finger at Alucard. His eyes were blurry with alcohol but he managed to scowl at their strange companion.

"You're...you're not allowed in the village!" he exclaimed with a hiccup as he nearly tipped over and grabbed the fence which bordered the pizzeria. "Go back, demon!"

The group looked between the accuser and the accused, and the former appeared mildly amused by the drunk's demand. Charlie himself grated his teeth together in agitation and began to furiously dig into his pockets.

"Smirk at ol' Charlie, will you?" he muttered. "I'll show you" he added as he gave a cry of triumph.

The old drunk pulled a small object from his pocket and the college students nearly laughed from the insanity of it all.

The man held a small metal cross in her hand.

They were all ready to kindly shoo the man off with some necessary teasing, but their words were cut short as they heard the frightening sound of a hiss from nearby. The group turned to Alucard and were repulsed by the expression on his face.

He appeared as some wild animal caught in a painful cage as his bright eyes sneered at the tiny cross. His hands were clenched at his sides and his teeth, long and pointed in the darkness, were clenched in a horrible, twisted scowl.

"Get back, old man" Alucard threatened as the man stepped closer.

"Get out! Get out!" Charlie chanted as he brandished the cross above his head. "I command thee, demon, to get out!"

"Charlie, not again!" a female voice shouted from the door of the pizzeria. Their waitress from before stomped over to the drunk, who now seemed unsure of himself as he meekly lowered the cross. "What have I told you about scaring the customers?" she scolded as she stopped at his side and put her hands on her hips. "You know that's bad for business!"

"But, the demon..." he meekly replied as he pointed toward the group. Then he let out a gasp as his finger suddenly shook. "No..." he whispered in a horrified voice.

Everyone turned to look at the spot, and everyone was shocked to find Alucard missing. The spot where he had stood was empty, and no one could recall when they had seen him disappear. Charlie seemed especially disturbed by these turn of events.

"What have you done..." he mumbled angrily as he turned toward the waitress. Then he let loose all his fury as he threw his hands in the air. "Look what you did, you stupid girl!"

"That's enough" Harry spoke up as he moved to assist the surprised employee. He stepped between the two and folded his arms over his chest. "I think you need to leave, sir."

"You'll be sorry" Charlie muttered as he eyed the college student angrily. "You'll all be sorry!" he screamed as he swept his hand over the group and turned to stumble off down the street.

"What will I do with him..." the girl muttered as she shook her head. Then she turned to Harry with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about the way he treated your friend. He doesn't usually get this rough with anyone."

"It's all right" Harry countered as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just glad he decided not to fight."

"Yeah..." she replied in a distracted fashion. "He's never yelled at me like that before. I wonder what's bothering him."

"Probably the drink" the college student suggested as he pulled forth some money. "But I'd like to pay for our pizzas, if you don't mind."

"Oh, not at all" she hurriedly agreed as she took his money and ran inside to get change.

Harry walked over to his friends who were still seated at the table with the relatively untouched pizzas. He scowled at the food and turned to where Alucard had mysteriously vanished.

"Well, what do you guys make of this?" he asked as he shook his head. "I'm puzzled."

"I'm tired" Sarah replied as she stifled a yawn with her hand. "Maybe we can think of something tomorrow."

"That sounds good" Seras half-heartedly agreed as she and the others rose from their seats. She wasn't at all tired, but she was startled as she looked at her watch. "It's almost midnight" she announced in an astonished tone.

"And we have classes tomorrow" Harry reminded as he led the group out of the pizzeria dining area. "So we'd better get some sleep."

"Wait, what is zat?" Pip suddenly asked as he broke from the crowd and walked over to where Charlie had stood. He stooped to pick up a small object lying on the ground. "Ouch!" he winced as he jerked his hand back. "Zat zing has acid on it!" he exclaimed as he looked at the burn appearing on his hand.

The others dashed over to where Pip knelt on the ground cradling his hand to his chest as he looked at what he had tried to grab.

"Let me see" Seras requested as she knelt beside him and took his hand to look over the wound.

Harry, meanwhile, stooped down and looked at the object Pip had tried to pick up. He was startled to find the item was the cross Charlie had waved at Alucard. The metal appeared to be of silver and the ornate carvings along the ends told him the object was not the usual cross found at any dime store.

Carefully he reached out his hand and tapped the metal with a brush of his finger. He felt no sense of pain, and with more boldness he took the cross in hand and held it in his palm. Nothing happened to his skin and he shook his head in puzzlement.

"This is what hurt you?" Harry asked of Pip as he held the object up for all to see.

He was shocked to see three of his friends recoil in disgust as their eyes widened horror at the object he held.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he looked at the innocent little cross.

"It's just...it's a cross" Seras whispered as she shook her head in confusion. "I just...could you put it away?" she almost begged as she turned her eyes away.

"Sure" Harry obliged as he put the cross in his pocket. The other visibly relaxed as the item was hidden by his clothes. "But can you explain why you guys acted like that?" he questioned as he stood to the feet while Pip and Seras did likewise.

"Ze cross iz painful to look at" Pip explained with a shrug. "I did not know what I was picking up when it burned me, and when you held it up, my eyes burnt like my hand" he added as he looked down at his marked hand.

Harry and Sarah exchanged glances of worry as he shook his head.

"I think that finalizes it" he spoke up as he pointedly looked to each of his pale friends. "You can't afford to go to Alucard's house tomorrow night."

"But we promised!" Seras argued with more force than she intended. She sheepishly looked down at the ground. "What if he gets mad?" she weakly added.

"Then he'll survive" Harry bluntly replied. "But this trouble started after our first visit to his home, and another one might actually kill you."

"You're joking, right Harry?" Sarah interrupted in an incredulous tone. "Alucard doesn't mean to kill them, does he?"

"They're not eating, they're sleeping during the day, and they have these strange allergies" he counted off. "Any more help from the manor's owner or Alucard and they may fall too far to save."

The three ill friends looked at one another doubtfully before Pip sighed and turned to Harry and Sarah. He nodded his head in defeat.

"We promise not to go" he announced in a glum voice.

"Good" Harry replied, but he seemed doubtful of their convictions as the group hurried on their way to their rooms. The night was beginning to wane as they all crawled into beds, but three did not fall asleep until the sun began to rise in the east.

The following day repeated itself as the friends refused to rise before the sun was making its journey below the mountains around the village. Harry and Sarah had a hard time getting their charges to their evening class before the teacher called roll. Even then the three appeared to be partially asleep as they acknowledged their names when the professor called them out.

There was one surprise which seemed to rouse even their distracted attention as the class was interrupted part way through by a knock on the door.

"Enter" Mr. Michaels called in surprise as the portal opened.

In stepped a short, blond student who carried himself in a stiff, military style similar to the Captain. Over his blue eyes he wore large round glasses and held a calm demeanor around his plump body. His face held a wide grin as he walked over to the professor and handed him a note. The teacher, puzzled, opened the letter and began to read the contents, which allowed for the student to look around the classroom.

He appeared to know Integra as he gave a curt nod in her direction, but she seemed less surprised to see him and more angered that he had entered the room. Her hands were balled into fists as she scowled at the new student.

He ignored her unwelcome expression and broached over the room in curiosity. His interest was caught as his eyes fell upon the group seated in the back of the room. He smiled even wider at the three pale friends who stared back with some awareness.

Then the professor finished reading the note and gestured to a seat close to the center of the room.

"You may sit there, Mr. Major" he instructed as he folded the letter and put the paper in his pocket. "Now if you don't mind, we'll resume the lesson" he briskly added as he returned to the chalkboard.

The student sat through the remaining portion of the lecture before dinner, and he obligingly followed the other students down the hall to the dining room. He held the position in the back of the crowd, directly behind the group of friends, and each of them looked nervously back to see him following so close.

They took up their usual places at the table, though this time the three did not bother to grab a plate of food.

"Ze little twerp iz watching us" Pip quietly noted as the new student sat down not far from them with a plate heaped with food.

"I think you have bigger thinks to worry about then a new student" Harry noted as he looked at the three without food. "Have any of you eaten today?" he asked, and was disappointed as they all shook their heads in the negative. "And still not hungry?"

"Well, we're hungry" Seras argued as she nervously bit her lip. "But we just don't see anything we want to eat..." she lamely finished with a shrug.

"You guys had better find something, or-" he began but was interrupted by a plate falling harshly on their table.

"May I speak with you three?" Integra asked as she held the plate in her hands. "Privately" she pointedly wondered as she looked to Harry and Sarah with annoyance.

"Why should we?" Pip countered with a surprised but defiant look on his face. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I watched the episode at the pizzeria last night" the woman informed. "And I know you won't stay away" she bluntly replied with a knowing expression in her eyes.

The three appeared startled by her words, but they all knew what she meant. Even though they had sworn to avoid Alucard's house this evening, they couldn't stay away. Something was compelling them to go at his bidding, whether they wanted to or not.

"We'll be right back" Seras announced as she and the others stood up and followed Integra away from the table before the other two could argue.

When they had rounded the corner and were out of earshot, Integra turned to them and folded her arms across her chest.

"When will you go to his house?" she quickly inquired.

"Why do you want to know?" Pip countered.

"Because I want to join you" Integra explained as she breathed a sigh of annoyance. "Take me, or I will be forced to tell your friends about your plan" she threatened.

The three looked at one another and then Seras finally shrugged.

"About midnight" she informed. "We'll meet at his street, the one closest to the forest at about midnight."

"I know the street" their fellow pupil spoke as she nodded her head. "Expect me as part of your group. If he asks questions, don't worry. I'll answer them."

Without another word Integra skirted them and walked back into the dining hall, leaving the three to talk over the situation.

"Maybe we shouldn't go" Seras suggested with some hesitation.

They each thought for a moment about the idea, but Pip finally shook his head.

"We cannot avoid this" he said as he spoke for them all. "Ze feeling iz too strong."

The others could only nod their heads in agreement and the three friends went back into the hall. Their other friends were impatiently waiting for their arrival, as they had seen Integra enter some moments before.

"What did she want?" Sarah immediately asked before they had a chance to sit down.

"She just wanted a date" Pip lied as the three settled into their chairs uneasily.

"You all had a serious face for such a little request" Harry insightfully pointed out.

"Well, you know I do not like to turn down pretty girls" the Frenchman replied with a forced laugh.

He looked over to where Integra had resumed her dinner, but she appeared unaware of his worried eyes. She completely ignored the group as she turned her attention to the pudgy new student, her eyes full of malice and some curiosity as he merely ate the free food without looking around. Pip suspected they would both lead the three to trouble in their adventure for tonight.

He only hoped Harry would be wrong, and death would not be what awaited them at the end of their journey.


	8. A Lesson In Folklore

A/N: The plot turns and questions are answered.

**A Lesson In Folklore**

"A nice night" Seras murmured to herself as she looked out the window of the dorm room to the darkness beyond.

The hour was late as their electric clock reflected a quarter till eleven o'clock. A few riotous dorm occupants were still having their fun as their music was blasted down the hall for all to hear. Seras rubbed her sensitive ears against the loud noise.

"What was that?" Sarah absently asked as she perused over a magazine.

"Nothing" her roommate replied as she shook her head. She turned from the window and walked over to their coat rack. "But I think I'll go for a short walk" she informed as she grabbed her jacket.

"Oh?" her friend said as she lifted her head. "You want me to come with?" she asked.

"No, I just need some fresh air" Seras replied as she headed for the door. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Have fun" Sarah called after her as she closed the portal.

Seras quickly walked down the hall as she winced with each beat of the music's heavy drum. She breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out into the cool evening and the pounding faded away to the calm shadows of the night. The young woman smiled at the moon overhead as she turned her steps to the small town's older residential blocks.

Since Seras knew the way the trip was relatively short as the street soon came into view. She noted the three other persons standing at the edge of the curb, but only two were a welcomed sight.

"Good evening" she greeted her companions with a bright smile.

Pip gave her a flashing, crooked smile while the Captain dipped his head. Integra ignored her words and merely kept her eyes looking down the block to the house where they were expected. Seras followed her gaze and was unsurprised to find a few dim lights still glowing through the windows. Alucard had always appeared to be a night owl, and thus perhaps he wouldn't mind their late arrival for their dinner date.

"Shall we go?" she bluntly asked as she took an impatient step toward the last home on the block.

"Why not?" Pip replied with a shrug as they began moving.

The three felt as if they were being herded as their unwelcome companion allowed them to pass her by as she brought up the rear. Her fast steps were unnerving to their already excited minds and they found the trip down the block took less time than they had expected.

Stepping upon the front porch to knock on the door, the visitors were surprised when the door opened of its own accord. Alucard stepped out and gave them a low bow.

"Good evening" he welcomed with a flourish of his hand. He hesitated but for a moment as his eyes passed over Integra. "I see you have brought a new friend" he commented with a grin.

"Yes..." Seras hesitantly agreed. "This is Integra Hellsing, a classmate of ours."

"A pleasure" Alucard spoke as he again bowed to the new acquaintance.

"Likewise" Integra returned with a wry grin.

"We are sorry for ze late arrival" Pip began to apologize, but their host merely held up his hand and shook his head.

"Guests are a treat, regardless of the time" he spoke as he stood aside. "You are always welcome in my abode" he promised as he pointedly looked to the three invited guests.

"That's very nice of you" Seras thanked with a smile.

"Indeed" Integra added with a grin of her own. "A very generous offer."

"I try" Alucard waved. "But for now let us enter my home. The night air cannot be good for your healths" he explained, but his tone held something akin to doubt as the group passed into the house.

Once everyone had stepped into the home Alucard closed the door and led them to the dining room they had supped in on their previous visit. Three of the visitors hesitantly sat in the chairs while Integra appeared to be very interested in their host.

"I am afraid that for the late hour, I haven't anything for you to eat" he regretted to mention. However, he did walk over to one of the cabinets which stood against the wall and began taking out glasses and a large decanter with red liquid. "But I do have the...medicine I promised" he spoke with a slight hesitation as a slow grin spread across his face.

"I would very much like to try a sample of your cure" Integra commented as she looked curiously at the drink. "Is it of an old variety of medicine?"

"Very old" Alucard replied as he set three glasses before the ill guests, but nothing before Integra. "But I am afraid I have not enough for your sample, as I did not expect another guest to entertain me tonight."

"I see" the young woman responded with a nod of her head. "Then water will do."

"Very well" their host replied as he took out another glass bottle filled with clear water and poured a fourth cup.

When they had all received their drink Alucard seated himself at the head of the table with nothing before him. The three friends nervously looked at their glasses and to one another as they waited for someone to make the first move.

"You needn't fear the drink" Alucard slowly mused as he leant back in his chair. He cupped his chin in his hands as he eyes flashed with play. "Perhaps you think I am poisoning you?" he teased.

"Oh no!" Seras argued for the group as she shook her head. "It's just..." she trailed off, unable to form any other reason for their rudeness.

Integra looked on at the three other students as she slowly sipped from her own glass. She, too, appeared to be waiting for their decision.

"Well" Pip sighed after a long and uncomfortable silence. "C'est la vie" he toasted as he raised his glass and downed the entirety of the contents in a single gulp.

Seras shook her head in horror at his poor form, but the Captain and she followed his example in a slower sense.

"What is in this medicine of yours, sir?" Integra asked as she watched her acquaintances finish their drinks.

"My family's treasure" Alucard replied with a chuckle. "A drink well-brewed for a number of years in our native homeland."

"And where is that?" she queried as she looked at him over the rim of her raised glass.

"One of the eastern European countries, if I recall" he explained in an off-hand manner. "My memory escapes me as to which one."

"And what would bring your to this small village far from your ancestry?" she continued to question.

"Research" he divulged as he sat up in his chair with interest. "My...hobby is the collection of folklore, and the rural areas always hold an abundance of such things."

"Folklore?" Seras interrupted with her own curiosity. "Like fairytales and ghost stories?"

"Particularly the latter" Alucard responded as he looked to the three friends. "The darkest creatures which hide in the shadows appeal to me the most, and I follow the call where it leads."

"Then perhaps you have learnt some about the strange manor atop the hill?" Integra prodded. "It seems to hold a mystery no one seems willing to solve."

Alucard slowly turned to her and gave her a piercing stare before he closed his eyes and chuckled.

"But perhaps you are?" he asked as he opened his eyes. "I am sure you all have heard every tale and rumor which had come about because of the house. Ghosts and werewolves reside there, do they not?" he teased.

"I believe vampires live there" Integra broke through the merriment.

Alucard appeared unsurprised by her announcement. Instead he chuckled as he shook his head.

"What imaginations these simple people have" he mused, but when his eyes fell upon Hans he suddenly stood to his feet.

"I am afraid I must ask you to leave for the night, Miss Integra" he quickly announced. The other three guests were shocked by his order. "I wish to discuss a proposal to my young friends" he explained as he swept his hand toward the companions. "Perhaps you will return another time with them?" their host suggested.

For a moment Integra appeared to want to object to her sudden ejection, but instead she smiled and nodded her head. The young woman stood to her feet and looked to the other three with a strange sense of finality.

"Let us hope we see one another again" she spoke as Alucard led her out of the room and they heard the door open and close.

Pip's attention was held by their host as he heard a key turn in a lock, but Seras looked to the Captain and was alarmed as she noted his pale face and quivering hands. She stood up and rushed to the other side of the table to kneel beside him.

"Are you all right?" she feverishly asked as he shook his head. "Pip, something's wrong with him."

Pip stood to his feet as Alucard reappeared in the dining room. He stopped at the entrance and watched the friends look upon their companion with worry.

"I am afraid we must leave" Pip announced as he slid his arm beneath Hans and pulled him against his side. "Our friend, his iz sick" he explained as he turned toward the doorway.

"That would not be the best choice" Alucard interrupted with a grin upon his face. "No doctor can cure what ails your friend."

"What do you mean?" Seras asked as she propped up Hans' other side. "Let us out!"

"He will not, oui?" Pip interrupted as he looked accusingly at their host. "He has locked ze front door."

"I see your hearing is improving" Alucard noted with amusement. "Then perhaps this may well be worth the risk."

"What worth the risk? What are you talking about!?" the young woman frantically asked as she looked to their ill friend. His breathing was growing rapid and his teeth were clenched as though her were in pain. "We have to leave. Now!" she demanded.

"Perhaps a demonstration would be suitable" their host suggested as his eyes turned to Hans.

Pip and Seras cried out in shock and horror as their friend opened his mouth in a soundless scream. He suddenly had the strength to push them away as he covered his face with his hands. Hans' body convulsed with pain as thick hair began sprouting from his skin. His fingers extended to become claws and his clothes began to rip as his muscles flexed and grew.

His companions jumped back in fear as he removed his hands to reveal his elongated face with a snout full of sharp teeth. His eyes were a blood-red color as his heavy breathing came out in growls and snarls of torment. He turned his glare upon Alucard with a look filled with hatred and desperation.

"That is enough" their host commanded as Hans suddenly collapsed to the floor.

Pip and Seras cringed as they watched their friend revert back to his human form. They slowly approached when they realized he was unconscious and carefully they laid him on his back. Seras looked him over for any lasting wounds as Pip turned to Alucard.

"What have you done to us?" he quietly questioned as Seras snapped her head up to attention.

"Us?" she slowly asked as she looked to her friend. "All of us?"

"His change is a...side effect" Alucard explained as he looked at his accusers with a smile on his face. "A positive one. Your own may perhaps be different."

"The drink..." Seras whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "What was in it?!" she demanded as she looked sharply at the demon now standing over them.

"Merely my own blood" the monster noted with glee. "A necessary component in my little experiment."

"Experiment!" Seras shouted as she stood to her feet. She pointed down to their unconscious friend. "You call this an experiment?!"

"No" Alucard seriously replied as he looked to Hans. "I would call it a success." A clock in the house chimed the midnight hour as Alucard suddenly scowled. "But enough questions. I believe it is time for us to leave."

"We are not going anywhere with you" Pip countered as he also stood to his feet.

"You have no choice" their host observed as he looked to Seras.

The young woman's eyes opened in shock as she unwillingly found herself slowly stepping toward the monster. She struggled to disobey but her body would not listen to her commands.

"What are you doing!?" she heard Pip demand as he struggled behind her. "Let us go!"

When Seras was within a foot of the creature she suddenly stopped and felt control return to her limbs. She looked up in fear to find the monster holding a serious expression on his face.

"You will come either way" he commented as he looked to Pip who still stood frozen. "But it would be much easier if you would not struggle."

Pip scowled but made no argument. Seras looked away toward their fallen friend, but also attempted no protest to his demand. They had little choice; he had proven his power over them through action and they had no doubt he would continue his control should they struggle.

"Excellent" Alucard grinned as he nodded his head. "Take your friend and let us leave" he directed to Pip.

"He iz too heavy" the companion argued as he felt his body be released.

Alucard turned to him with a wide grin as he let out a small chuckle.

"Not for you" he informed. "Not anymore."

Pip gave him a dubious look as he knelt down and lifted his friend in his arms. He was shocked by how little Hans weighed and how easily he held his large companion. Alucard merely turned to Seras as she looked on in amazement.

"Will you do the honors, Seras?" he asked as the young woman jerked at the call of her name.

"What?" she fumbled.

Alucard stepped forward and fore she could stop him he had taken hold her shoulders and leaned down so his lips were against her ear.

"Imagine a portal" he softly whispered. "One that leads to the manor house upon the hill."

His words brought the image of the strange house to mind and before she could break free from his grasp a lack vortex appeared against one of the walls.

"Good" Alucard spoke aloud so all could hear as gave her a push toward the hole. "Now shall we go?"


	9. Cramming Session

A/N: Short but explanatory. One or two more chapters left for this tale.

**Cramming Session**

Seras could barely retain her balance as she stumbled into the dark portal she herself had created. She gasped as shadow replaced light and all the world seemed swallowed in the bleakness of the dark depths.

The moment passed, though, and she found herself tripping on stone as she emerged on the other side. Her feet finally failed her and she came crashing down onto a hard floor. The young woman shook her head and raised her eyes to peer around and was surprised to find a familiar entrance hall before her gaze.

Seras turned at a noise and watched as Pip came through the portal, still holding an unconscious Hans, and Alucard followed quickly behind. The Frenchman looked about himself in mild surprise.

"So you have a deal with ze owner of zis house?" he curiously questioned.

"You could call it as such" Alucard admitted as footsteps were heard coming down the hall.

Walter emerged from a side passage holding a lit candelabra in one hand. He calmly walked over to the group and bowed deeply to them all as he then turned his attention to the vampire.

"Their rooms have been prepared, Lord Alucard" he announced in a grave manner.

"And Wolchester?" Alucard asked.

"I am afraid she has disappeared" the servant informed. "A short while before nightfall" he spoke with significance.

"I see" the lord replied in a disapproving tone. "Perhaps we will see her in the future, then."

"I fear so, my lord" Walter affirmed with a solemn bow.

"Then let us prepare our guests for the future visitors" Alucard commanded as he took a step back into the shadows created by the light. "But first, show them to their rooms."

"Yes, sir" the retainer agreed..

"Wait!" Pip shouted as Alucard's form suddenly melt into the darkness.

The three students were now left in the care of Walter as Seras turned to Pip in confusion. They had both tried to follow the stream of conversation, but they realized there was a part of this story that had not yet been revealed to them.

"What iz going on here?" Pip questioned as he turned to their retainer.

"This way, please" was all the elderly gentleman would say as he turned and strode down the hall from which he had come.

Now, however, they stood their ground.

"I do not think so" Pip argued as he slowly lowered his friend to the ground. Seras came to stand beside him. "We want to know what iz going on."

"Now" Seras chimed in as she folded her arms across her chest.

Walter stopped and slowly turned his head around to look at the stubborn group. The glow from the candles reflected off his monocle, and for a moment Seras and Pip regretted their act of defiance.

"I believe there is no-"

Suddenly the air seemed to swirl and the darkness at the end of the hall began to shift and form into what the group recognized as another dark portal. The butler frowned as someone stepped forward from the blackness.

"It appears the time is already gone" he spoke as he blew out his candles.

"What do you mean you don't know where they are?!" Sarah yelled through the receiver.

"Just what I mean" Harry tried to calmly reply through gritted teeth over the other end of the phone. "Pip and Hans left a few hours ago to grab some snacks and they should have come back by now."

"Shit..." she muttered as she looked to the empty bed which was supposed to be occupied by Seras. "Well, what do we do now?" she asked as she walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain.

Night had long fallen and their friends were missing.

"We go look for them" Harry noted calmly over the phone. "We don't have any other choice."

"So where do you recommend?" Sarah asked as she grabbed her coat and made for the door while juggling her cell phone. She grabbed the knob, turned and pulled the portal toward her. "I mean, this town isn't exactly small."

"I recommend the home of the person called Alucard" Integra bluntly advised.

Sarah screamed in surprise and dropped the phone as she stared at the blond who stood in the doorway with a serious expression on her face. The corners of her lips did twitch at the terrified student who was now clutching at her quickly beating heart.

"What the hell are you doing here!?" Sarah yelled in anger as she reached down to pick up the phone.

"What's going on?" Harry called in a worried tone over the receiver. "What's happened?"

"I think we have a tag-along for this little scavenger hunt" his friend noted as she scowled at Integra. "Integra Hellsing is standing in the doorway telling me we should visit that Alucard guy's house first."

"A good plan, but after we get some answers from her" he advised.

"Well, then you'd better get your arse out here so we can get this ov-" Sarah began when she heard footsteps down the hall. She looked around the corner past Integra and noticed Harry coming down the passage with quick steps. "About time" she sarcastically teased as she stepped back to let them both in.

"We don't have time for this" Integra argued as she stood in the doorway.

"Make time" Harry countered as he folded his arms over his chest. "Because if we don't know the facts" he commented, noting Sarah and himself. "Then we just might get killed."

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you" Integra surmised as she turned away. She stopped as she felt her arm roughly grabbed and looked back. Her cold blue eyes scowled at the interference from Harry. "Let go."

"No" he rejected. "We need to know what we're up against. Now."

Integra sighed but she stepped into the room and Harry released his hold.

"Your friends and I attended the dinner offered by that...person known to you as Alucard" she began.

"Why didn't you stop them!?" Sarah interrupted in fury.

"He had enough power to order them to his house through deceiving you" she objected. "Besides, what argument would I have made?" she argued. "Would they have believed me if I had explained he was a vampire?"

"A...a vampire?" Sarah asked incredulously. Her jaw dropped open in utter disbelief. "Are you joking?"

"I told you the truth would be hard to swallow" Integra pointed out. "My plan was to protect your friends, but Alucard must have suspected me from the beginning. He drugged my water and led me out onto the lawn, where I collapsed for about an hour before regaining my strength."

"Assuming we believe you, why did you come back here?" Harry questioned. "Why couldn't you sneak into the house and warn our friends?"

"With my cover revealed and no way to defend myself, I would have been killed quite quickly" the young woman explained. "So I returned here to gather you two for a stronger strike." She turned slightly away from them as her eyes narrowed in agitation. "Besides, they had already disappeared by the time I could struggle to one of the front windows."

"Gone? Gone where?" Sarah interrupted.

"Probably to the manor" Integra assumed. "But there's no way to know until we thoroughly search the house."

"A good plan, should we not all be killed in the attempt" Harry agreed, though his gaze met her own in a tense atmosphere. "But you're not telling us everything" he observed with suspicion. "All this time you've been laying low and waiting. Why did you become interested in our friends today?"

"Because something else arrived today" she explained. "The new student is a part of this play."

"How so?" he questioned.

"This isn't the first time the monster known to you as Alucard has tried to desecrate others" she spoke. "He tried this many years ago on this same campus, but with a German exchange student."

"That would be our new peer" Harry pointed out.

"Exactly" Integra agreed. "However, the...hybrid was a failure" she continued. "He could stay out in the sun and wasn't forced to drink blood, but his aging wouldn't stop. It was slowed, but he would die within a few hundred years." Then she hesitated, and finally a sigh escaped her lips. "And the process drove him to near insanity."

"How reliable is your information?" he asked.

"Very reliable" she affirmed. "And now I believe he is trying this experiment again, this time with your friends."

Sarah suddenly stepped into the middle of the group with her head shaking furiously.

"What the hell are you both talking about?!" Sarah asked as she tried to keep a handle on the spiraling conversation. "How can any of this make sense to you two?!" she yelled in frustration as she threw her arms up in the air. "Vampires! Strange new students who are actually older than they look! Our friends being hypnotized or something! All of this is just insane!"

"Calm down" Integra ordered gruffly. "If none of this makes sense, what other possible way could these chain of events had occurred?" she retorted.

"I don't know, maybe aliens?" she suggested sarcastically.

"Now isn't the time for this" Harry intervened as the two women glared at one another. "Folklore or not, we have our friends to find" he stated.

Sarah sighed and nodded her head, but she turned to Integra with a curious expression.

"I have one question before we decide to get ourselves killed" she asked. "If all this is going on at the manor, and has been for a long time, why isn't the owner making an appearance?"

Integra raised a brow in disbelief, but she closed her eyes and a small smile spread on her lips.

"You haven't guessed?" she questioned as Sarah rolled her eyes. "The owner of the manor is Alucard himself."

For a long, silent moment Sarah stared numbly at their new companion. Then she cleared her mind by shaking her head and threw her arms up in defeat.

"You're right, I would never have guessed" she agreed as she rubbed her temple with one hand. "Reality is way too much stranger than fiction for me to understand." She turned to look at both her fellow conspirators. "So when do we go rescue our friends from the dreaded vampire before his previous prodigy decide everyone needs to die?"

"Right now" Integra announced as she turned and led the way out of the room.

"Here goes nothing, then" Sarah commented as she put on her coat and followed behind Harry and their unelected leader.

The fall air was crisp and biting to their lungs as they traveled outside and through the college town. Sarah mumbled to herself about the lunacy of the situation while Harry and Integra remained in grim silence as the houses passed by and they soon arrived at their desired street.

The house at the end of the block was dark and appeared deserted as they now inched their way down the sidewalk. Their ears were alert to the slightest sound and their eyes to the slightest movement as the arrived at the final street light which lay just a few yards from the grass' entrance.

"Now what?" Sarah whispered as she nervously shifted her feet.

"There doesn't appear to be anyone in there" Harry noted, but he sounded skeptical as Integra shrugged.

"There's only one way to find out for certain" she commented as she led the way boldly through the gate and onto the porch.

Her two companions followed closely behind and soon they stood before the door. All was silent as Sarah and Harry tried to peer through the windows, but Integra merely hesitated a moment before taking a firm hold of the knob and pushing the door open.

The portal swung open without barrier and the entrance was illuminated by the street light outside.

"After you" Sarah invited as Integra rolled her eyes and stepped inside.

The others followed suit and soon all three were peering about the hall, hesitant to go further into the darkness without the aid of a light.

"Like mice unto a cage" a voice suddenly rang out as the door behind them slammed violently shut.

Sarah shrieked and turned to the door in a wild panic. She grasped the knob and tried frantically to open the portal, but the wood wouldn't budge. Harry and Integra looked about to find the source of the unwelcome surprise as a sinister laugh rang about the house.

"Show yourself" Integra demanded as she fearlessly stepped deeper into the house.

"Why do your words sound so cruel?" the voice asked as a plump figure stepped from the shadows emanating from the dining room. A smirk appeared on his lips as the group recognized their new peer. "You know who I am, and you still speak to me in such a manner."

"I know what you are" Integra shot back as she spat out her words. "Who you _were_ is a different story."

Montana Max chuckled again as his glasses hid his eyes from their scrutiny as his gaze appeared to wander over the companions. He stopped at Sarah.

"Your friend is afraid of me" he noted with humor. "I will give her a real lesson in fear."

"No!" Harry yelled as he tried to step between the monstrosity and Sarah, but the hybrid was too fast as Max appeared at Sarah's side.

She was too surprised to struggle as he wrapped his thick arms around her and stepped back into a dark portal. Integra didn't hesitate as she darted forward into the blackness, leaving Harry behind only by a few seconds as they followed their prey.


	10. Final Exam

A/N: Final clip. Much more dramatic than I expected it to be. I thank everyone who followed this tediously long tale.

**Final Exam**

The group in the mansion's foyer watched as first one, then two figures loomed out of the shadow vortex.

"Sarah!" Seras yelled as she saw her friend shoved out of the portal by one of their fellow students. She would have ran over to her companion had Hans not stopped her with an arm. "But what's he doing with her?! How can he even do that?!" she exclaimed.

"He's a vampire!" Sarah explained just as the pudgy student clapped a hand over her mouth.

"That's quite enough" he mused with a wide, chubby grin. The look would have been playful on a child, but the look in his eyes spoke of more than fun. "Where is Alucard, Walter?" he spoke in almost a teasing voice. "I'm sure your master is somewhere near."

"Perhaps" was Walter's elusive response as he looked disdainfully at the uninvited guest. "But the master doesn't wish to see trash at any hour."

"Trash sounds like an admirable idea, should he not show himself" the student replied as he looked around the manor. "His decor was always lacking" he noted.

"Let her go!" Seras interrupted as she flung off Hans' arm and glared at their opponent. "What are you doing with her?!"

"A hostage, of course" the man replied with a wide grin. "To broker a deal in patricide."

"Patricide?" Pip repeated in confusion.

"Indeed" the other answered. "Our 'father' is no doubt watching us right now, waiting to see how his 'children' play" he informed as he looked up to the rafters. "Will you come out and play, also, 'father'?" he mockingly asked.

Meanwhile Seras' eyes were locked on her friends, who stared back in a terrified but composed gaze. The young captive appeared to be formulating a plan as she looked up at her captor, and then back down to the hand clapped over her mouth. She peered back at Seras and blinked several times, as if telling her to be ready.

Seras' eyes widened in horror.

_No_ she silently mouthed as she shook her head, but Sarah blinked slowly as if in apology.

"No!" Seras screamed as Sarah opened her mouth and managed to bite down hard on the man's hand.

The surprise attack caught him off guard and he released his hold as blood came forth from the wound. He snarled at the girl as he cradled the profusely bleeding hand while an amount seemingly impossible rained down upon the floor. Sarah gagged on the cold liquid as she staggered out of his grasp and toward her friends.

But something was horribly wrong.

Sarah didn't make it more than a few yards before she clutched her stomach and gasped. She collapsed to the ground as Seras raced to her side.

"Sarah!" she called out in terror as she moved to hold her friend in her arms. "What's wrong!?" she questioned as she looked for any signs of wounds, but nothing appeared through the blood splattered over her face. She looked up as Pip and Hans came to their side. "What's wrong with her?" she begged to know.

"I-I don't know" Pip replied as he furiously checked her body. "I can't find a mark on her."

Their worry was interrupted by a short, low laugh, and they all looked to where the man stood. He was facing the ground, his hand barely leaking now, but they could tell his body was shaking from his amusement.

"She must certainly feel the pain by now" he murmured, more to himself then to the group. "The feeling of infection, of slowly dying."

"No!" Seras exclaimed as she held her friend closer. "That can't be!"

"How!?" Pip demanded to know as Hans' eyes suddenly widened and his lips curled up in a snarl.

The silent friend stooped down and pointed at the blood which lay around her mouth, then he mimed the act of drinking and looked to his otherwise healthy companions.

"His blood..." Seras surmised as she shook her head. "His blood is like ours" she understood as a few loose tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Not quite" the stranger interrupted, though the glee was leaving his voice as he raised his wounded hand. "He didn't finish the process. I am not complete, but I soon will be" he added as his wide, demonic grin returned.

"I believe...we won't allow such an end" a voice suddenly spoke, and all eyes turned to the main doors as they banged open against the walls. Integra stood in the entrance with Harry at her side, and both appeared to be quite out of breath. She smirked at the man's scowl upon their appearance. "You can't run, Max" she threatened.

"Sarah!" Harry exclaimed as he rushed from the entrance to his friend. He slid down to the floor as he looked astonished at her pale face. "What's happened?" he asked of his companions.

"Later" Pip ordered as he slowly stood to his feet and glared at their maniacal foe. "We have to deal with zis guy before we can help her."

Hans nodded his head, and Harry reluctantly stood to his feet and turned toward their adversary. His gaze, however, was still retained by Integra as he smirked at the young woman.

"You look much like your father" he commented. "But do you have his strength?"

"I don't need strength" Integra countered as she pulled out a strange orb from one of her pockets. "I merely need this."

"A ball?" Max asked with an amused but interested grin. "What will you do with your toy?" he inquired.

"This" she explained as she kneeled to the ground and softly nudged the ball toward him.

Max watched as the container slowly rolled in his direction. He appeared unimpressed until the ball was within a foot of himself, and then he raised his arm and a portal appeared.

Integra scowled as the ball disappeared into the abyss.

"I don't have time for games right now" he calmly informed her with a shrug. He began slowly moving toward her as she defiantly stood her ground. "Perhaps another time" he suggested as he raised his healed hand and a long, sharp blade protruded from his skin.

"Perhaps not" Seras interrupted as she focused on the point the ball had vanished.

Max turned around at her voice and his eyes widened as the ball suddenly appeared through a small portal not more than a few inches from where he stood.

And it had changed directions.

The vampire had little time to think of a plan before the silver ball softly struck his shoe. Nothing appeared to happen for a moment before a sudden blinding light exploded from the shell.

Max raised his arms to cover his face as the brightness hit his body. A blood curdling scream erupted from his mouth and echoed off the walls as his form began to melt against the light. His hair was immediately burnt away as his skin melted upon contact. His clothing even burst against the internal force of heat within his body as he quickly burnt away.

The three infected friends turned away against the sun's imitation as each felt their skin heat up against the strange weapon. Fortunately the blast was focused and thus limited to a small area, probably to create a larger impact on the intended target.

Soon the light died down and all gaze at the spot where Max had stood. Only a small pile of smoldering clothing and simmering ashes were all that was left of the psychotic vampire.

"Thanks" Integra called out to Seras, who only turned back to the friend she closely held.

For a moment all was silent, and only the soft, staggered breathing of Sarah was heard above the quiet of the hall.

"What a list of guests" the occupants suddenly heard, and the voice appeared to come from the stifled air of the manor. "How shall I show my appreciation for a wonderfully exciting night?" the amused voice inquired.

"Alucard!" Integra yelled above his sudden laughter. "Show yourself!" she demanded.

A faint shadow appeared in the darkest corner of the room close to the staircase. Out of the blackness stepped the monster at her bidding, but he first moved over to the smoking ashes which were once Max.

"He could never become a full vampire" Alucard murmured as he looked upon the mass in disgust. "His body rejected my blood even as his mind wished for that impossibility."

However, he soon turned his attention to the group of friends who hovered around Sarah, but addressed the lone student.

"What are you going to do now, Integra?" he suddenly questioned of her, but his eyes still held on to the companions.

"You are my last objective" she simply stated as she slowly pulled out a small hand gun which had been hidden in her shirt. She pointed the barrel steadily at the creature. "With your destruction, everyone will be free" she commented as her own gaze wandered to the group.

"You forget the dying girl" he noted with a clicking of his tongue. "The blood in her veins is ill, and even with her sire gone the mutation will not stop." Now Alucard turned his full attention to the young woman who so surely held the weapon. "Will you kill her to save yourself, or will you allow her to live?"

"You are not offering her life" Integra spat in disgust. "You are merely offering her a way to escape the pain of death" she commented.

"So much like your father" Alucard mused to himself.

"I get that a lot" she returned as she cocked the gun.

"Stop."

The quiet, firm voice came from the group as Seras slowly handed her dying friend to Harry and stood to her feet. She looked to the two arch enemies who faced off, then back to her pale companion. She shook her head, and then returned to the two with a strong glare.

"You two make me sick!" she exclaimed as she stalked over to stand amidst them. "Here you are talking about your lives while my friend is dying!"

"Seras, move" Integra commanded.

"No" Seras refused as she shook her head. "I won't until you listen to me" she informed as she looked to Integra. "You know destroying him won't cure us, don't you?" she asked, and the young woman turned her eyes away. "You know it's too late for us, don't you?!" she insistently questioned. "We've drank too much!"

"Seras" Pip softly spoke as he stood and stepped over to her side. He settled his hands on her shoulder and looked to Alucard. "The damage iz done" he stated rather than asked. "We cannot return to our human selves" he calmly informed, and Harry looked stunned as his head whipped up. "Alucard" he questioned as he looked toward the vampire. "Can you save our friend?"

"In a way" he evasively answered, but they knew what the cost entailed.

"We can't just let her die" Seras objected as she turned toward Integra. "Please let us save her in any way we can" she pleaded.

Integra looked to the two friends, and then at the monster who waited patiently for her answer.

Finally she lowered her gun and deeply sighed, and her head shook at her stupidity. Her eyes turned toward the two companions who stood in her way.

"Do you truly know what you're asking?" she questioned.

"More than you can guess" Pip calmly replied.

Harry cradled Sarah in his arms as a few loose tears strayed down his cheeks. Her breathing was more labored then when he had arrived and her skin was now cold to the touch. She began to shake in his hold, regardless of the warmth he tried to provide to her.

However, a shadow fell across them both which caused him to look upward. Alucard towered over the Sarah and him, his red eyes staring down at the couple with an intense gaze. He kneeled down so that he was eye level with Harry, and then he raised one of his hands with the palm facing upward.

Harry shrunk back as he slowly raised a fingernail and cut a thin line across his wrist. A small trail of blood trickled from the wound, very much different from what had happened to Max upon his wounding.

"She will die for a time" Alucard informed as he looked to Harry.

The man understood what was being done to save Sarah, and he firmly nodded his head. Harry straightened her to a seated position and Alucard set his bleeding wrist above her mouth. The cold blood poured over her lips and most escaped into her mouth as she tried to breath through the pain.

After she swallowed some drops the change was almost instant.

Sarah's breathing became more even and her body stopped shaking from the cold. Harry noticed, however, that her skin still grew colder and her heart beat was slowing to a dull pace. Soon there was no sound and her lips did not move from the effort of inhaling air. She hung limp in his arms, and he held her closer as Alucard stood to his feet.

He turned to face Integra, Pip and Seras with a grin on his face.

"An entertaining night, but I believe we must go" he announced.

"We?" Seras asked as she stepped closer to Pip.

"Indeed, my child" he explained. "The night will not last much longer, and we must do more traveling before the sun rises." He looked to Integra, and gave her a deep bow. "Perhaps another time, Miss Hellsing" he suggested.

"Not perhaps" she corrected. "When."

"I look forward to it" Alucard agreed as he snapped his fingers.

A large portal appeared against the staircase of the grand manor.

"Walter, if you will show them the way" he asked of his servant who stood off to the side.

"Certainly, Lord Alucard" he obeyed as he moved to Hans and Harry, who still held Sarah. "This way, if you please" he instructed as he gestured to the portal.

"What's through there?" Harry suspiciously asked as he slowly stood to his feet with Sarah in his arms.

"A long future" Alucard interrupted with a chuckle as he raised an arm. A sudden gust of wind began to blow through the halls of the manor. "And a closing chapter here."

The companions stood their ground for a moment until they heard the stones outside begin to topple. The windows shattered from the force of the wind and the ground shook beneath their feet.

The mansion wall falling apart.

"Seras, we have to go" Pip spoke as he took her hand and led her to the portal. "Zere is nothing for us here now."

"I guess" she agreed as she looked back to Integra, who watched them move toward the portal without herself flinching. Seras lifted her hand and waved back to her. "Thank you!" she yelled against the great noise.

Harry, Sarah and Hans were the first to be led through the opening with Walter as their escort. Alucard stepped up to the doorway as Seras and Pip hesitated a moment at the door to their new un-lives.

"This should be an interesting adventure, my children" Alucard encouraged with a wide, toothy grin on his face.

The couple looked at one another and then both plunged deep into the portal.

The eldest vampire looked one last time as the roof began to shake with the force of the tornado he had created. He could see Integra still standing at the entrance, and he scowled as she stubbornly stood her ground till the end. With a wave of his hand he let loose a blast of wind and knocked her back out of the door and far into the lawn.

One more glance and a final bow, and then he, too, entered the portal.

Integra watched the final moments of destruction as the manor caved in on itself. The blocks crumbled to dust upon impact with the ground and the wood appeared to rot nearly instantly. The foundation faltered and collapsed, creating a large whole which swallowed what remained of the structure's fragments.

Then even the noise no longer existed as she was left solitary amidst the green grass. She looked for a long moment at the destruction, pondering the significance of the night, until the sounds of people and cars crept to her ears.

Integra turned her steps toward the forest and was soon in the depths of the trees. As she neared town she could see a fire blazing at the end of one of the streets, quite possibly the house Alucard had rented.

The young woman broke out from the woods and melded into the growing throngs of locals and people who were stuck between going to the mansion or watching the fire burn. She ignored their presence and instead wandered away to her rented room, her mind elsewhere as fire trucks and police cars sped by.

There would be nothing for them to do, and nothing for them to save when they reached their destinations. Only smoldering piles of rubble, ash, and ruin awaited the onlookers and rescuers. The inquest would no doubt find some mundane reason for both, possibly some shortage of wires or strange natural phenomenon.

But Integra would know the truth, and she would work off what she knew to find them again. It would no doubt take years from her life, but she was willing to sacrifice them for her cause.

And for another look at the companions who stood together even in the face of a fate worse than death.

Their master was expecting her, after all.

**The End**


End file.
